There are multiple ways to become a Spanish citizen — but if you’ve been living legally in Spain, citizenship by residency could be your ideal path. At Carway Migrate, our expert legal team is ready to guide you every step of the way.
With Carway Migrate, you’ll receive full legal support — from eligibility verification and document preparation to submission and representation before Spanish authorities.
Our legal experts will carefully evaluate your residency history and personal circumstances to confirm your eligibility and lead you through the process with clarity, efficiency, and care.
We focus exclusively on helping you obtain Spanish nationality by residency, offering a smooth and fully personalized experience tailored to your case.
Have you legally lived in Spain for several years? You may be eligible to apply for Spanish citizenship through residency — one of the most direct and accessible legal paths to nationality.
The required residency period varies depending on your country of origin:
10 years for most nationalities
2 years for citizens of Latin American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, or Equatorial Guinea
1 year in specific cases (e.g. marriage to a Spanish citizen or birth in Spain)
Verifying your eligibility and residency period
Collecting and reviewing all required documentation
Preparing and submitting your application to Spanish authorities
Ongoing legal guidance and personalized support throughout the process
We analyze your residency history and personal situation to confirm if you qualify.
We help you gather, verify, and organize all required paperwork to avoid delays or rejections.
We prepare and file your application before the authorities — and keep you updated at every stage.
Residency is one of the surest ways of acquiring Spanish nationality. At Carway Migrate, we provide legal assistance to residents of Spain, business people, or any distant laborers who have chosen to make Spain their residence place: whether it is a long-term or short-term assignment, the legal assistance is expertise-based to make the process as easy and effective as possible. We are a professional team that specializes in helping you go through the steps required to apply to become a Spanish citizen, help you see the light, and assist you personally on each step.
To be a resident of Spain and become a Spanish nationals, there are some major requirements. As a rule, you have to legally live in Spain for a number of years. The most widespread are the following timelines:
10 years of legal residence in Spain.
5 years of residence.
2 years of residence.
2 years of residence.
1 year of residence.
If you are married to a Spanish national, you can be granted citizenship after only 1 year of legal residence.
It should be mentioned that it does not necessarily need to be the consecutive time that an individual spends in Spain. It can still be claimed in case there were short absences, so long as these remain within some limits.
The procedure of acquiring Spanish citizenship may appear to be a very frightening one, but clearly, it is not complicated with the proper directions. Here are the key steps:
The initial process is an eligibility check where you are required to confirm that you qualify to gain Spanish citizenship, depending on the time spent in the country and other personal factors. Carway Migrate will make a review of your case and will make sure that every requirement is met.
The paperwork you would need to complete your application would require you to demonstrate that you are a legal resident, your tax filings, a background check, and that you have integrated into the Spanish society. Your Carway Migrate advisor will give you a step-by-step list of what you will require in terms of documents and make sure that nothing is left out.
Once you have prepared all your documents, the next thing to do is to apply to the authorities in Spain who are concerned with your application. This will be assisted by our team, where all the paperwork will be duly filled out and handed in on time.
As the process, you may be required to take a Spanish culture exam and, in some instances, take a language test to demonstrate that you are proficient in the Spanish language. Carway Migrate will equip you with these steps and provide you with tips and advice on how to expect them.
It may take months before a final decision on your application is given. But in the case of Carway migration, you will be updated on everything happening in the process, and you will get updates on the status of your application.
The path to Spanish citizenship by residence can involve pitfalls that may delay your application or even result in rejection. The following are some of the pitfalls that should be avoided:
This is one of the most prevalent reasons why applications take a long time to be approved, because of incorrect or missing documentation. It is important that all the documents are filed properly and punctually.
It is an error to overlook such residency requirements as continuous residency periods or the number of allowed absences. Make sure that your history as a resident of Spain is taken in accordance with the Spanish laws.
Spanish authorities are not only evaluating the number of years you have lived in the country, but also how well you fit into the Spanish culture. This is encompassed in your cultural knowledge, language, and your social and economic input. Lack of integration could lead to the rejection of the application.
If you’ve lived legally in Spain for the required number of years, you may qualify for citizenship by residency — one of the most direct legal paths to becoming a Spanish national.
At Carway Migrate, we:
Evaluate your case to confirm eligibility
Advise on the documents and evidence required
Prepare a tailored legal strategy and handle your application from start to finish
Let us simplify your path — and help you secure your future in Spain.
Depending on your situation, the exact documents that you would need will vary; however, you would usually need the following:
Carway Migrate has managed to lead many clients through the citizenship procedure of Spain. Our clients are entrepreneurs who have ventured into Spain to do business, families who are planning on how to make a living, and lastly, our customers are those who appreciate expert advice and direction in deciding on the right path to take. A UK-based remote worker who is now one of our customers received citizenship after 10 years of stay in Spain. The client had issues in paperwork which were not filled in initially but with the help of our legal team, the client received favorable response to the issue and had to rectify the misplaced information promptly with the help of our legal team.
At Carway Migrate, we provide expert, professional assistance to make the process of obtaining Spanish citizenship by residence as smooth as possible. As an Immigration lawyer Spain service provider, we will take you through the process of verifying eligibility, as well as preparing and submitting documents, until the end. That's why get in touch with us today and arrange your consultation and the initial step to obtaining your Spanish nationality.
The standard age is 10 years, although exceptions are made to some nationalities, such as 2 years for nationals of Latin American countries, and 1 year for married persons of Spanish nationality.
Yes, you are required to demonstrate some knowledge of the Spanish language as part of the application. Carway Migrate will help you in preparing for the test.
Yes, they can refuse to sanction applications in case of missing documents or flaws in the application, or even because the applicant has failed to satisfy the requirements of residency or integration.
It may take a number of months. Normally, the applicants would wait a period between 5 and 9 months before the decision is made, based on the complexity of the case.
Yes, there are a certain amount of gaps in residency that are allowed, but these gaps should not go beyond some limits. The team at Carway Migrate will review your history of residence to ascertain that you are not going against the regulations.