Settle for Good
Spanish citizenship, handled in English — and never left sitting in a drawer
You have built a life in Spain. The last step should not mean years of refreshing a government website that says "en trámite". We file your application electronically with zero formal defects, monitor every official notification so no deadline slips past you, and if the Ministry exceeds its legal 12-month deadline, we take it to court to force a decision.
Replies from an immigration lawyer, in English. Offices in Alicante, Valencia, Madrid and Barcelona — clients all over Spain.
01 / WHAT IT IS
The standard route to a Spanish passport
Citizenship by residency is the standard route to a Spanish passport: it is granted to foreign nationals who prove a continuous period of legal residence in Spain, a clean record and integration into Spanish life. The process ends with an oath and civil registry inscription — and full EU citizenship.
- Lawyers who work in fluent English, from first message to oath
- Fixed fee quoted in writing before we start — no surprises
- You always know where your file stands: proactive status updates, not silence
- Automated electronic filing: a flawless application does not get stuck
02 / REQUIREMENTS AND TIMELINES 2026
How many years of residence do you need?
| Your situation | Legal residence required |
|---|---|
| General rule (UK, US, EU and most nationalities) | 10 years |
| Refugees | 5 years |
| Nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal, and Sephardic Jews | 2 years |
| Special cases — born in Spain, married to a Spanish citizen for one year, widowed spouse of a Spaniard, child or grandchild of an original Spaniard | 1 year |
Residence must be legal, continuous and immediately prior to the application. Long absences can break continuity — we audit your travel history before filing.
The other requirements
CCSE exam
A culture and constitution test run by Instituto Cervantes. We prepare you for it: materials, mock tests and registration handled.
DELE A2 Spanish exam
Required unless you come from a Spanish-speaking country. We prepare you for this one too, at your level and pace.
Clean criminal record
In Spain and in your country of origin.
Documents
Birth certificate (legalised or apostilled, with sworn translation), criminal record certificates, padrón history, valid TIE. You get a closed checklist for your exact case — not a generic list.
Government fee: €104.05
(Form 790, code 026), separate from legal fees.
How long does it take?
The legal deadline for a decision is 12 months from filing. In practice, many self-filed applications sit unresolved far longer. When the 12 months pass without an answer, Spanish law lets you sue the administration for "administrative silence" and force a ruling — a tool most applicants never use, and one we use routinely to unblock stalled files.
03 / HOW WE WORK
Your file, watched from first message to oath
-
Eligibility review, in plain English.
We check your years of residence, absences, record and paperwork before anything is filed. If something is missing — a certificate, an exam, a few months of residence — you hear it straight away, with a plan and a filing date.
Eligibility confirmed -
A flawless file, exams included.
We assemble and verify every document (apostilles, sworn translations, validity dates) and coach you through the CCSE and, if needed, the DELE A2. Most long delays start with a defective file that triggers a requerimiento — a formal request for corrections that freezes everything for months. We build the file so that does not happen.
File complete -
Automated electronic filing.
Your application is submitted online through our automated validation system: every field, attachment and fee double-checked before it is registered. No queues, no impossible appointments, no lost paperwork.
Filed & tracked -
Tracking until the oath — and litigation if needed.
We monitor your file status and every electronic notification, and we tell you when something moves — you never have to chase us or the Ministry. If the legal 12-month deadline passes with no decision, we advise you on filing the administrative-silence lawsuit. Once approved, we walk you through the oath and registration, and your children's fast-track citizenship if applicable.
Spaniard
04 / FEES
One figure, full scope, in writing
[PENDIENTE CLIENTE]
Planned block: a single fixed fee, confirmed in writing before any work begins. It covers eligibility review, document preparation, CCSE/DELE preparation, electronic filing and full tracking. Government fees (€104.05 application fee, Instituto Cervantes exam fees) are charged at cost.
05 / FAQ
Spanish citizenship, without the fine print
The legal deadline is 12 months from filing. Many applications take longer in practice — but after 12 months of silence you are entitled to take the Ministry to court to compel a decision. That lawsuit is how stalled files get unblocked, and it is part of what we do.
As a general rule, yes — 10 years of continuous legal residence. It drops to 1 year if you have been married to a Spanish citizen for a year, were born in Spain, or are the child or grandchild of an original Spaniard. Time on a student stay counts only partially. We calculate your exact qualifying date from your immigration history.
Spanish law requires a formal declaration renouncing your previous nationality, except for nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal and France. We explain exactly what that declaration means in your specific case before you commit to anything.
Two exams: the CCSE (constitution and culture, multiple choice) for all adult applicants, and the DELE A2 language exam unless you are from a Spanish-speaking country. Both are very passable with preparation — and preparing you for them is included in our service.
Yes. Your lawyer communicates with you in English on WhatsApp, by email and on video calls, and translates the bureaucracy into plain language. The paperwork itself is in Spanish, as the law requires — that is our job, not yours.
You will not need to ask. We track your file and all official electronic notifications, and we update you proactively at every change of status. Lost notifications are one of the main reasons granted applications fail — monitoring them is core to the service, not an extra.
Yes. We audit applications filed personally or through other firms. If yours has passed the 12-month legal deadline, we assess the administrative-silence lawsuit; if there is a pending requerimiento, we answer it within the deadline.
Yes. Filing is electronic and communication runs on WhatsApp and video calls, so we act for clients across Spain. Only the oath and ID issuance require your presence before the authorities, and we tell you exactly where and when.
06 / NOT YOUR CASE?