Foreign nationals may apply for Spanish nationality if they have resided in Spain legally and on a continuous basis for 10 years.

For those foreign nationals who have asylum and refuge status it is possible to apply for a visa within five years.

In two years for those people originally from Latin American countries, Andorra, Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal or of Sephardic origin.

It may be obtained in one year only by those who were born in Spanish territory or who have been in the care of Spanish citizens or institutions for two consecutive years. It is also available to those who have been married to a Spanish national for one year, or a widow or widower if the couple were not separated at the time of the death. It may also be obtained in one year by those born outside Spain with a Spanish father, mother, grandfather or grandmother

Not all children born in Spain of foreign parents are Spanish, only those who according to Civil Law acquired Spanish nationality through residence not birth (simple presumption of nationality).

WHERE?

The paperwork for applying for Spanish nationality can be carried out at Registry Offices in the Basque Country.