Free Tool

Your residency & citizenship timeline

Every renewal date, when you reach long-term residence, and the year you can apply for a Spanish passport — mapped from the day your permit started.

Your permit

Use the start date on your residence card, or the day your first permit was approved.

Citizenship

How long you must hold legal residence before you can apply depends on where you are from.

Sephardic origin can also shorten the wait — ask us if that applies to you.

Enter your permit start date
    Permit lengths follow the usual pattern for each route, but your own resolution letter is what counts — durations vary, and time on a student permit is counted differently towards long-term residence and nationality. Renewal windows are the standard ones: you may apply from 60 days before your card expires until 90 days after. Use this to plan, then check the exact dates with your case manager.

    The two-year route most people miss

    Spain's nationality rules are unusually generous to some countries — and a lot of people wait ten years without needing to.

    2

    Two years of residence

    Citizens of Latin American countries, the Philippines, Portugal, Andorra and Equatorial Guinea can apply for Spanish nationality after just two years of legal residence — and Spain generally lets them keep their original nationality too.

    1

    One year, married to a Spaniard

    A year of legal residence while married to a Spanish citizen is enough, provided you are living together and the marriage is registered in Spain.

    5

    Five years, long-term residence

    Whatever your nationality, five years of continuous legal residence gets you long-term residency — a five-year card, renewable, with the right to work and far fewer conditions.

    Renewal coming up?

    Missing the window is the most expensive mistake in this whole process. We can handle the renewal, or just remind you when it opens.

    Check Your Renewal Window Citizenship Service
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