Long-term residence and Spanish citizenship – how to stay in Spain for good
Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →
After five years of legal residence you can apply to stay in Spain indefinitely. Spanish citizenship usually takes ten years, or two for nationals of Ibero-American countries. Here is who qualifies, how the DELE A2 and CCSE tests work, what it costs and which deadlines can cost you your status.
Staying in Spain for good has two stages: long-term residence after five years and Spanish citizenship, usually after ten. The residence rules moved into Real Decreto 1155/2024, the immigration regulation, on 20 May 2025, with fees under Orden PJC/617/2025 since 16 June 2025. The golden visa for investors ended on 3 April 2025 under Organic Law 1/2025; existing investor permits stay valid.
A Supreme Court judgment of 8 July 2026, published on 22 September 2026, annulled several parts of RD 1155/2024, so check the current text before you file.
Long-term residence in Spain: who qualifies?
If you are not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, national long-term residence (residencia de larga duración) lets you live and work in Spain indefinitely on the same terms as Spaniards. You need five years of legal, continuous residence immediately before you apply. Absences of up to six months at a time do not break it, as long as they total no more than ten months, or 18 if they were for work.
You also need no criminal record in Spain or in your countries of residence in the previous five years, you must not be listed as inadmissible in a Schengen state, and you must prove that any children of compulsory school age are in school. Some people qualify sooner:
| Route without five years | Condition |
|---|---|
| Pension | You receive a contributory retirement pension or a permanent absolute disability pension |
| Born in Spain | You have lived here three consecutive years when you come of age |
| Former Spaniard | You were a Spanish national of origin |
| Public guardianship | Five years under the guardianship of a Spanish public body |
| Protection | You are a recognised refugee, stateless person or beneficiary of subsidiary protection |
| Contribution | You have made a notable contribution to Spain |
Source: Ministry of Inclusion, information sheet 49 on national long-term residence (updated May 2025), read 23 September 2026.
How do you apply for long-term residence, and what does it cost?
| Step | What | Deadline or fee |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Form EX-11 at the Oficina de Extranjería (foreigners' office) of your province, or online via the Mercurio e-office | Ideally in the two months before your permit expires; up to three months after, with a possible fine |
| 2 | Fee, form 790 code 052 | €21.87, within ten working days of admission |
| 3 | Decision | Within three months; no answer means approval |
| 4 | TIE (foreigner identity card) in person, with cita previa (appointment) | Within one month; €21.87 |
| 5 | Card renewal | After five years, then every five years until you turn 30, then every ten |
Source: Ministry of Inclusion information sheet 49, Orden PJC/617/2025 and Policía Nacional, read 23 September 2026.
EU long-term residence, EU citizens and UK nationals
EU long-term residence (larga duración-UE) adds stable, regular resources and public or private health insurance to the five years, and lets you apply for residence in other EU countries. For two people the resources benchmark is 150 per cent of the IPREM (public income indicator, €600 a month in 2026), plus 50 per cent per extra member. Time on a student stay counts at half if you hold a residence permit when you apply, and EU Blue Card holders can count five years across the EU if the last two were in Spain.
EU and EEA citizens and their families gain permanent residence after five continuous years and can ask for a certificate; non-EU family members get a permanent card, issued within three months, valid for ten years and renewed automatically. UK nationals covered by the Withdrawal Agreement can request a ten-year permanent document after five years, even before their first card expires.
| Status | For | Lost after |
|---|---|---|
| Long-term residence | Non-EU nationals | 12 consecutive months outside the EU (24 for former Blue Card holders and their families); the EU version also after six years away from Spain |
| Permanent residence | EU and EEA citizens and their families | More than two consecutive years away from Spain |
Source: Real Decreto 1155/2024, Real Decreto 240/2007 and Ministry of Inclusion information sheets 50 and 63, read 23 September 2026.
Spanish citizenship: how many years of residence do you need?
Spanish citizenship by residence rests on article 22 of the Civil Code. Your residence must be legal, continuous and immediately before the application, and you must show good civic conduct and sufficient integration into Spanish society.
| Years of legal residence | Who |
|---|---|
| 10 | The general rule |
| 5 | Recognised refugees |
| 2 | Nationals of origin of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea or Portugal, and Sephardic Jews |
| 1 | Born in Spain; married to a Spaniard for a year and not separated; widowed from a Spaniard; born abroad to a parent or grandparent originally Spanish; two consecutive years under Spanish guardianship or foster care; or missed a right of option |
Source: Civil Code, article 22 (BOE), read 23 September 2026.
The special route for descendants under the Democratic Memory Law is closed: according to the Spanish consulate in London, appointment requests ended on 22 October 2025. Children apply through their legal representative; over-14s sign together with that representative.
DELE A2, CCSE and the Spanish citizenship application
Integration is proved with two Instituto Cervantes exams: the DELE Spanish diploma at level A2 or higher, and the CCSE test, 60 per cent on the Constitution and institutions and 40 per cent on culture, history and society. Nationals of Spanish-speaking countries skip the DELE but still sit the CCSE. Holders of the Spanish ESO (compulsory secondary) certificate are exempt from both, as are under-18s, and people who cannot read or write can ask the Justice Ministry for a dispensation.
| Test | Format | Fee in Spain | Remaining 2026 dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| CCSE | 25 questions, pass with 15; results in about 20 days; certificate valid four years | €85, up to two attempts | 29 October (register by 8 October) and 26 November (register by 5 November) |
| DELE A2 | Spanish language exam | €138 | 13 November (register by 30 September) |
Source: Instituto Cervantes, read 23 September 2026.
Registration for 2027 opens on 18 November for the DELE and on 23 November 2026 for the CCSE. The citizenship application is filed online at the Justice Ministry's e-office with a digital certificate or Cl@ve; unsigned drafts are deleted after two months. The fee is €104.05 (form 790 code 026), according to the Justice Ministry. The ministry has one year to decide; if it does not, the application counts as refused and you can go to the administrative courts.
After a grant you have 180 days from notification to swear or promise loyalty to the King and obedience to the Constitution and the laws (before the Civil Registry or a notary), renounce your previous nationality where required and register in the Civil Registry, or the grant lapses.
You keep your old nationality if you come from an Ibero-American country (where Spanish or Portuguese is official; Puerto Rico counts, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana do not), Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea or Portugal, or are Sephardic of Spanish origin. French citizens keep theirs too, under a convention in force since 1 April 2022. A naturalised Spaniard who uses only the renounced nationality for three years loses Spanish nationality. Citizenship also brings full voting rights: foreign residents vote only in municipal elections, where a reciprocity treaty or law allows.
What to do now
| Step | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Count your years of legal residence and your absences | Now |
| 2 | Apply for long-term residence on form EX-11 | In the two months before your permit expires, after five years |
| 3 | Book the TIE appointment and pay €21.87 | Within one month of the decision |
| 4 | Register for the CCSE, and the DELE A2 if you need it | DELE A2 by 30 September; CCSE by 8 October or 5 November 2026 |
| 5 | File the citizenship application and pay €104.05 | With the years and both certificates |
| 6 | Swear or promise, and register in the Civil Registry | Within 180 days of the grant |
| 7 | Justice Ministry citizen line: 902 007 214 or 918 372 295 | Before you file |
Source: Ministry of Inclusion, Instituto Cervantes and the Justice Ministry, read 23 September 2026.
Official sources
The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.
- Ministerio de Inclusión – Hoja informativa 49: Autorización de residencia de larga duración nacional ( · inclusion.gob.es
- BOE – Real Decreto 1155/2024, Reglamento de extranjería · boe.es
- BOE – Orden PJC/617/2025, de 13 de junio (tasas de extranjería) · boe.es
- Policía Nacional (sede) – Tasas de Extranjería · sede.policia.gob.es
- Ministerio de Inclusión – Hoja informativa 50: Autorización de residencia de larga duración-UE ( · inclusion.gob.es
- BOE – Real Decreto 240/2007, art. 10 · boe.es
- Ministerio de Inclusión – Hoja informativa 63: Tarjeta de residencia permanente de familiar de ciudadano de la UE · inclusion.gob.es
- BOE – Código Civil, art. 22.1 · boe.es
- BOE – Real Decreto 1004/2015, Reglamento del procedimiento de nacionalidad por residencia (consolidated) · boe.es
- Instituto Cervantes – CCSE: A quién se dirige · examenes.cervantes.es
- Instituto Cervantes – CCSE: Precio / Calificaciones / Examen · examenes.cervantes.es
- Instituto Cervantes – CCSE: Cuándo · examenes.cervantes.es
- Instituto Cervantes – Tabla de precios DELE 2026 (PDF) · examenes.cervantes.es
- Ministerio de Justicia (sede electrónica) – Nacionalidad española por residencia · sede.mjusticia.gob.es
- Ministerio de Justicia – ¿Cómo se adquiere la nacionalidad? Residencia · mjusticia.gob.es
- BOE – Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo de 15 de julio de 2024 (BOE-A-2024-18114) · boe.es
- Ministerio de Justicia – Tener la doble nacionalidad; Código Civil art. 23 b) · mjusticia.gob.es
- Ministerio de Justicia – Entra en vigor el convenio de nacionalidad entre España y Francia (01/04/2022) · mjusticia.gob.es
- BOE – Constitución art. 11.3; Ministerio de Justicia – Tener la doble nacionalidad · boe.es
- BOE – Ley 20/2022, de Memoria Democrática, DA 8ª · boe.es
Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.