Spanish Citizenship in Two Years: Six Claims Checked Against the Law

In messaging groups and waiting rooms, claims about Spanish citizenship get passed around as if they were facts. Some are half true; others have no basis in the law. If you are from Latin America and live in Spain, you have probably heard several of them. Here are six, each with the article that confirms or refutes it.

“The two years count from the day I arrived”: what Article 22 of the Civil Code requires

The two-year period exists, but it is not set by the entry stamp in your passport: what counts is legal residence. Article 22 of the Civil Code sets ten years as the general rule, five only for those who have been granted refugee status, and two for nationals by origin of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea or Portugal, and for Sephardic Jews. The short period depends on nationality, not on language. Paragraph 2 reduces it to one year in specific cases, such as having been born in Spain or having been married to a Spanish citizen for one year.

Paragraph 3 adds the decisive condition: residence must be legal, continuous and immediately prior to the application. It is not enough that you have lived in Spain for two years: the period is measured backward from the filing date. The law sets no maximum number of days outside the country: case law accepts that brief, sporadic and justified absences do not break continuity.

“As a Latin American, I don’t have to take any exam”: the CCSE yes, the DELE depends on the country

Integration is proven with two tests: the CCSE, on constitutional and sociocultural knowledge of Spain, and the DELE A2, on the Spanish language. For what Spanish law calls nacionalidad española por residencia, Spanish citizenship by residency, every adult must pass the CCSE, whatever their origin, except in the cases of Article 10.5 of Order JUS/1625/2016: the waiver for illiteracy or learning difficulties, and having completed compulsory secondary education (ESO) while at school in Spain. Minors under 18 and persons whose legal capacity has been modified by a court are exempt from both tests.

With the DELE A2, the rule changes. The exemption depends on nationality, not on speaking Spanish (Article 6 of the Regulation approved by Royal Decree 1004/2015), and the list in Article 10.2 of Order JUS/1625/2016 is closed: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Equatorial Guinea, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. Brazil is not on it: if you are Brazilian by origin, you get the two-year period, but you must prove your Spanish with the DELE A2 or with one of the official certificates accepted under Article 10.3. And both tests must be passed when you file the application (Article 10.1 and section 4 of the Order’s annex).

“I’ll have to give up my nationality”: what Articles 23 and 24 of the Civil Code say

After citizenship is granted, you take the oath or pledge of allegiance and, where applicable, declare that you renounce your previous nationality (Article 23 of the Civil Code). Letter b) exempts from that renunciation Sephardic Jews of Spanish origin and natives of the countries listed in Article 24.1: the Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal.

That is why a Peruvian, Venezuelan or Dominican who becomes a Spanish citizen does not have to give up their nationality of origin. The Constitution, in Article 11.3, also allows Spain to sign dual nationality treaties with Ibero-American countries. Nationals of other countries, with some exceptions, do have to declare that renunciation.

“No payslip, no citizenship”: means of support and the 2025 Supreme Court ruling

Article 22.4 of the Civil Code requires proof of good civic conduct and a sufficient degree of integration into Spanish society. It does not mention salary, an employment contract or savings. The Supreme Court confirmed this in its judgment 155/2025 of February 13, 2025: means of support are not a legal requirement, and their absence does not by itself mean that the person lacks integration.

The minimum living income (ingreso mínimo vital) and other benefits are lawful means: someone who receives an allowance, works part time or goes through a period without a job is not excluded for that reason alone. An absolute lack of means, with no proof of how you support yourself, is a different matter: that can weigh in the assessment.

“Once it’s filed, it’s done”: civic conduct is checked until the end

Your residence time is checked as of the filing date; good civic conduct continues to be assessed throughout the procedure, until the decision. Events after the application count, and the Audiencia Nacional (National High Court) has upheld refusals over crimes committed while the file was pending.

Filing does not end your obligations either. If the authorities ask you for documents, you have three months from notification to respond to that request for additional documents (Article 10.2 of the Regulation); if you don’t, you are deemed to have withdrawn your application. And you must report any change of address (Article 9.4 of the Order).

“If they don’t answer within a year, it’s refused”: what administrative silence really means

The Regulation sets a maximum period of one year to decide and notify (Article 11.3). It is a legal time limit, not an estimate of how long each file will take, and it is suspended while a request for documents is pending (Article 7.3 of the Order). If it expires without an express decision, the application is treated as a deemed refusal (administrative silence).

That deemed refusal is not a final denial: it lets you appeal without waiting indefinitely. As long as there is no express decision, no deadline runs that would make you lose that right (Constitutional Court judgment 52/2014): Article 124.1 of Law 39/2015 allows an optional appeal for reconsideration against the deemed decision at any time, and judicial review before the administrative courts is also available. Whether to appeal or to wait depends on each file.

None of these claims is harmless: one leads people to file too early, another to not file out of fear, and another to treat as closed a file that is still open. The next time someone forwards you one of these messages, the useful question is which article says so.