Spain to change citizenship rules for foreigners

Foreign citizens who want to obtain Spanish citizenship will have to take a double exam from October 15.

New amendments have been made to the law on administrative reform measures in the sphere of management of the Ministry of Justice and the Civil Registry Office, which was approved by the upper house of parliament and will soon be published in the official government gazette.

The reform concerns the acquisition of citizenship by foreign citizens who already reside in the country. It does not affect the required period of stay in the country, which remains 10 years (with the exception of citizens of former Spanish colonies and refugees).

As for the exam itself, it will consist of two parts: firstly, the international Spanish language exam DELE, level A2 or higher (from which citizens of countries where Spanish is the official language will be exempt); secondly, an exam on knowledge of the Spanish Constitution, social and cultural realities of the country.

Both exams will be “designed and administered by the Cervantes Institute, according to the standards set by the Ministry of Justice,” unlike the usual practice of interviewing at a civil registry office or police station, where the decision on the degree of integration was made by a civil servant. It was he who decided what questions to ask the applicant for citizenship, which is why, for example, it was previously refused to people who did not know the name of FC Barcelona’s stadium or the name of the prime minister’s wife.

Citizenship will be issued electronically through the Directorate General of Civil Registry Offices and Notaries and will be subject to a fee (€100).