Long-term residence (residencia de larga duración)
- After five years of continuous legal residence (absences of up to six months at a time and ten months in total over the five years are usually allowed).
- Gives the right to live and work in Spain without renewing conditions every year. The card is renewed every five years.
- An EU version (larga duración UE) also gives some mobility rights in other EU countries.
Citizenship by residence
- Ten years of legal, continuous residence in general.
- Two years for nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal and people of Sephardic origin.
- One year in some cases, such as marriage to a Spanish citizen.
- You must pass the DELE A2 Spanish exam (nationals of Spanish-speaking countries are exempt) and the CCSE culture test.
Dual nationality
Spain generally requires new citizens to renounce their previous nationality, except nationals of the countries listed above (Ibero-America and others), who can keep it. Spain also has a dual nationality agreement with France. Whether your home country lets you keep its citizenship is a separate question.
