Spanish citizenship by residence generally requires 10 years of legal and continuous residence in Spain, plus passing the CCSE test and proving Spanish at DELE A2 level where applicable. Shorter timeframes apply in specific cases, such as marriage to a Spanish national (1 year) or refugee status (5 years).
In your case there is no dual-nationality agreement with Spain, so acquiring Spanish nationality requires formally renouncing your original nationality. Also check what your own country’s law says about this.
See the citizenship procedure →Certificates issued in Reino Unido (birth, marriage, criminal record) must be legalised or apostilled to be valid in Spain. Check with your consulate which of the two routes applies to you.
Any document not in Spanish must be translated by a sworn translator recognised in Spain. Informal translations are not accepted by immigration offices.
Criminal record and padrón certificates usually have short validity (typically 3 months). Request them once you have the appointment, not before.
If your passport is about to expire, renew it at your consulate before the appointment: without it they cannot process fingerprinting or card collection.
This guide is indicative and does not replace legal advice. Specific requirements depend on your case file and the office handling it.
The immigration procedure itself is the same for everybody, but three things depend on your country of origin: the timeframe for citizenship, whether you can keep your current nationality, and how your documents have to be legalised. This is what applies to United Kingdom.
Spanish citizenship by residence requires, in your case, ten years of legal and continuous residence. Shorter periods apply in specific situations: one year through marriage to a Spanish national, two years for nationals of Ibero-American countries, and five years with recognised refugee status. On top of the ten years you must pass the CCSE test and the DELE A2 Spanish exam, unless you are exempt.
There is no dual nationality agreement between Spain and United Kingdom. On acquiring Spanish nationality you are required to make a formal renunciation of your nationality of origin before the Civil Registry. What that renunciation actually produces depends on United Kingdom's own law: in some countries it does not cause automatic loss, in others it does. It is the question that comes up most often, and it is worth resolving before starting the file.
United Kingdom is party to the Hague Convention, so your documents travel with an apostille — a single stamp from the competent authority in United Kingdom, with no need to pass through the Spanish consulate. A sworn translation into Spanish by a translator recognised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still required, and the apostille has to be on the document you actually submit.
British passport holders can enter the Schengen area as tourists without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. That stay does not authorise work and does not turn into residence by itself: any residence route has its own procedure, and overstaying the 90 days works against you in it.
TIE renewal
The application is filed from 60 days before the card expires and up to 90 days after. What counts is the filing date; the fingerprint appointment comes after the decision.
NIE assignment
The number itself, on form EX-15. It is not a card and does not authorise residence: it identifies you before the administration.
These exist in the system but are not part of the usual route for the British community: fingerprint appointment (tie), arraigo social, arraigo laboral, family reunification, card collection. Selecting one of them in the appointment system is a frequent reason for a lost slot.
Last reviewed: 1 September 2026.
General information only; this is not legal advice. Requirements, fees and timeframes are set by the Spanish administration and can change.