Marrying a Spaniard cuts the residence needed for Spanish nationality from 10 years to 1, but that year has to be spent living legally in Spain. There’s no way to apply from abroad unless your spouse is a Spanish diplomat or consular official posted there. You’ll also need two exams, the DELE A2 and the CCSE, and at the oath Spain asks most applicants, including those from the US, the UK, Canada and Australia, to declare that they renounce their previous nationality.
If you have Spanish ancestry yourself, read our Spanish citizenship by descent guide and guide to citizenship through grandparents first: some descendants can claim without moving to Spain.
The rules at a glance
- Marriage: at least 1 year, not separated legally or in fact.
- Residence: 1 year of legal, continuous residence in Spain, immediately before applying.
- Exams: DELE A2 (Spanish) and CCSE (constitution and society).
- Fee: EUR 104.05.
- Decision time in law: 1 year; no answer by then counts as a refusal.
- Oath: within 180 days of the decision, including a declaration renouncing your previous nationality.
Who qualifies
Article 22 of Spain’s Civil Code normally requires 10 years of residence for nationality. One year is enough for a person who has been married to a Spaniard for one year and isn’t separated, legally or in fact. Your spouse can be Spanish by any route: by birth, by descent or by naturalisation.
The residence has to be legal, continuous and immediately before the application. In practice that means living in Spain on a residence card, usually the card for family members of Spanish citizens. The marriage year and the residence year are separate conditions, so if you lived in Spain before the wedding, that time can count towards the residence year.
Living abroad doesn’t count, with one exception: a spouse who lives abroad with a Spanish diplomatic or consular official posted there is treated as legally resident in Spain.
You must also show good civic conduct and enough integration into Spanish society. The exams below are how integration is measured.
The marriage must be in the Spanish Civil Registry. Applications are supported with a literal certificate of the marriage from the Spanish register, so if you married outside Spain, your spouse has to register the marriage first.
The two exams
Under Royal Decree 1004/2015, applicants take two exams run by the Instituto Cervantes, which holds them in Spain and at centres abroad:
- DELE A2 or higher: a Spanish language exam at basic level. Nationals of Spanish-speaking countries are exempt, and so is anyone who already holds a DELE at A2 or above. Everyone else, including applicants from the US, the UK, Canada and Australia, takes it.
- CCSE: a multiple-choice test on the Spanish constitution, government, culture and society. Everyone of age takes it; no nationality is exempt.
Minors and people whose legal capacity has been modified provide school or care-centre certificates instead, and disabled candidates can take adapted exams. Both tests are booked through the Instituto Cervantes. Our language requirements guide compares Spain’s level with other countries.
Documents
Royal Decree 1004/2015 asks for:
- the application form and your passport;
- your birth certificate, apostilled and translated into Spanish;
- a criminal record certificate from your country of origin, apostilled and translated. For the US, that’s normally the FBI background check;
- your residence card;
- your DELE and CCSE results, or permission for the Ministry to check them;
- proof of the marriage: the literal marriage certificate from the Spanish Civil Registry;
- proof of your address in Spain (the padrón) and a Spanish criminal record certificate, or permission for the Ministry to check them; and
- the fee receipt.
See our apostille guide and certified translation guide for your foreign documents.
Applying, step by step
- Register the marriage in the Spanish Civil Registry, if you married abroad.
- Move to Spain on a residence card and live there legally and continuously for a year.
- Pass the DELE A2 and the CCSE. You can sit them before you move, at a Cervantes centre abroad.
- Pay the EUR 104.05 fee and apply online through the Justice Ministry’s electronic office, or in person at an official registry office. Lawyers and other professionals can file electronically for you.
- Wait for the decision. The law allows one year; silence after that counts as a refusal, which you can challenge in court.
- Take the oath within 180 days of being notified, at the Civil Registry or before a notary. You swear loyalty to the King and obedience to the Constitution and the laws, and declare that you renounce your previous nationality. If you miss the 180 days, the grant lapses.
The renunciation declaration and your current citizenship
Article 23 of the Civil Code asks new Spaniards to declare that they renounce their previous nationality. Nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal are exempt, as are Sephardic Jews of Spanish origin. Nationals of most other countries, including the US, the UK, Canada and Australia, must make the declaration.
Whether the declaration actually ends your other citizenship depends on your other country’s law. Some countries end citizenship when you voluntarily take another, so check yours before you sign.
The US is one example. There, losing citizenship requires a voluntary act done with the intention of giving it up. Federal rules (22 CFR 50.40) say the State Department presumes that a person who naturalises in another country, or takes a routine oath of allegiance, intends to keep US citizenship. Those rules don’t deal with a declaration like Spain’s specifically, so if keeping US citizenship matters to you, ask a US consular officer or an immigration lawyer before you sign.
Spain adds its own rule. Under Article 25, a Spaniard who isn’t Spanish by origin loses Spanish nationality by using only the renounced nationality for three years. So once you’re Spanish, keep using your Spanish documents too. Our Spanish dual citizenship guide covers this in detail.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get Spanish citizenship by marriage while living outside Spain?
Generally no. The one-year rule needs one year of legal, continuous residence in Spain immediately before you apply. The only exception is a spouse living abroad with a Spanish diplomat or consular official posted there, who counts as legally resident in Spain.
Is it one year of marriage or one year in Spain?
Both. You must have been married to a Spaniard for at least one year, not legally or informally separated, and have lived legally in Spain for at least one year immediately before applying. The year in Spain can start before the wedding.
Do I have to take the DELE and CCSE?
Yes. Applicants must pass the DELE A2 Spanish exam (or a higher level) and the CCSE test on the Spanish constitution and society, both run by the Instituto Cervantes. Only nationals of Spanish-speaking countries are exempt from the DELE, and nobody is exempt from the CCSE because of their nationality.
Do I have to give up my current citizenship?
Spain asks you to declare at the oath that you renounce your previous nationality, unless you're from an Ibero-American country, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea or Portugal. Nationals of most other countries, including the US, the UK, Canada and Australia, must make the declaration. Whether it actually costs you your other citizenship depends on that country's law, so check yours. On the US side, for example, federal rules presume that a person who naturalises abroad intends to keep US citizenship, but they don't address Spain's declaration specifically, so ask a US consular officer or an immigration lawyer before you sign. And once you're Spanish, keep using your Spanish documents: a naturalised Spaniard who uses only the renounced nationality for three years loses Spanish nationality.
How much does it cost and how long does it take?
The Justice Ministry fee is EUR 104.05, plus the Cervantes exam fees. The law gives the Ministry one year to decide; if it hasn't decided by then, the application counts as refused and you can go to court. In practice, backlogs often push decisions past a year.
Does a registered partnership (pareja de hecho) count?
The Civil Code's one-year rule is written for people who are married. A registered partnership isn't a marriage, so partners normally fall under the standard residence periods instead. A same-sex marriage counts exactly like any other marriage in Spain.
Official sources
- BOE: Spanish Civil Code, consolidated text (Articles 21 to 24), Spanish
- BOE: Royal Decree 1004/2015 on nationality by residence (exams, documents, time limit), Spanish
- Ministerio de Justicia: nationality by residence (fee, oath before the Civil Registry or a notary), Spanish
- 22 CFR 50.40: US presumption of intent to keep citizenship
Checked against these sources on 11 November 2026.