How long does Spain take to decide a citizenship by residence application?

Checked on 2026-10-25

Spanish law gives the Ministry of Justice one year from when your application reaches the instructing directorate-general to decide and notify you. If no decision arrives in that year, the application counts as refused. After a grant, you have 180 days from notification to swear or promise allegiance before the Civil Registry, or the grant lapses.

Key facts

What	The law says	Source
Deadline to decide	One year from when the application reaches the Dirección General de los Registros y del Notariado	Real Decreto 1004/2015, art. 11.3
No answer within the year	The application is deemed refused (negative administrative silence)	Real Decreto 1004/2015, art. 11.3
If you are asked for missing documents	Three months to fix it from notification, or the application is treated as withdrawn	Real Decreto 1004/2015, art. 10.2
Who decides	The Minister of Justice, on the directorate-general’s proposal	Real Decreto 1004/2015, art. 11.1–2
After a grant	180 days from notification to swear or promise allegiance, renounce your previous nationality where required, and ask for registration at the Civil Registry	Código Civil, arts. 21.4 and 23; Real Decreto 1004/2015, art. 12.1
Registration	Within 5 days of those declarations; this ends the procedure	Real Decreto 1004/2015, art. 13.1
If refused	Recurso de reposición; the courts (vía contencioso-administrativa)	Real Decreto 1004/2015, art. 14.1; Código Civil, art. 22.5

The one-year deadline

The regulation says the procedure must be decided and notified within one year of the application entering the Dirección General de los Registros y del Notariado (Real Decreto 1004/2015, art. 11.3). The clock in the regulation starts at that entry date.

What silence means here

For citizenship, silence works against you. If the year passes with no express decision, the regulation says the application is deemed refused. This is the opposite of some residence permits, where silence means approval.

Requests to fix the application

If your application or documents don’t meet the requirements, you’ll be asked to fix them. The notice must warn you that if you don’t fix them within three months of being notified, you’ll be treated as having withdrawn the application (Real Decreto 1004/2015, art. 10.2).

After the grant: 180 days

A grant is not the end. Within 180 days of the day after you are notified, you must go before the Civil Registry and swear or promise allegiance to the King and obedience to the Constitution and the laws, renounce your previous nationality where the law requires it, and ask for registration (Real Decreto 1004/2015, art. 12.1). The Civil Code says a grant lapses if you don’t appear within those 180 days (art. 21.4). The Civil Registry then registers your Spanish nationality within five days (Real Decreto 1004/2015, art. 13.1).

If you are refused

You can file a recurso de reposición under the general rules of administrative procedure (Real Decreto 1004/2015, art. 14.1). The Civil Code says a grant or refusal of nationality by residence can be taken to the administrative courts (art. 22.5).

Sources

Change history

2026-10-25: Page created

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