Spain
Citizenship guide · ES
Spain offers EU citizenship with a fast 2-year naturalisation route for Ibero-Americans, but generally requires renouncing your previous citizenship.
✓ Good news
Residency by investment (golden visa) is available here often a faster path than full naturalisation.
Who can visit Spain?
93 of 199 passports can enter Spain visa-free, visa on arrival, by ETA, or with an e-visa.
Visa-free 93
- Albania
- Andorra
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Dominica
- El Salvador
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Kiribati
- Kosovo
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macau
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Palau
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- South Korea
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tuvalu
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uruguay
- Vatican City
- Venezuela
105 passports require a visa to visit Spain.
Am I eligible for Spain citizenship?
Tap the option closest to your situation for an instant steer.
Why Spain?
Spanish nationality gives you full EU citizenship and one of the world's strongest passports (see the mobility panel). Two features stand out: a 2-year fast-track naturalisation for citizens of Latin America and a handful of other countries, and the Democratic Memory Law, which opens a descent route for descendants of Spanish exiles.
Citizenship by descent
Spain applies jus sanguinis:
- A child born to a Spanish father or mother is Spanish by origin, regardless of birthplace.
- Children born abroad to a Spanish parent can often acquire nationality by option within set time limits.
- Democratic Memory Law (2022): descendants of Spaniards who went into exile during the Civil War (1936-1939) and the Franco dictatorship can apply for Spanish nationality - effectively a grandparent-level descent route.
There is no general "any ancestor" programme; the exile route is the main exception.
Naturalisation
The standard residence requirement is 10 years of legal, continuous residence, plus proof of good civic conduct and integration.
It is reduced to 2 years for citizens of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal, and Sephardic Jews. It drops to 1 year for people born in Spain, married to a Spanish national, or born abroad to a Spanish parent or grandparent.
Dual citizenship
Spain generally requires you to renounce your previous nationality when naturalising. The key exception: nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, and Portugal may keep their original citizenship.
Fees & timeline
The application fee is around €100 (plus document and translation costs). Processing typically takes one to three years depending on the route and caseload.
Residency by investment
The good news: the Spain Golden Visa doesn't need any of that
While citizenship is discretionary, the Spain Golden Visa grants up to 10-year renewable residency through investment from about €500,000, with a published fee schedule and processing timeline.
Documents checklist
The documents you'll typically need for each citizenship route in Spain. Tick items off as you gather them your progress is saved on this device.
Citizenship by descent
Proving your lineage to a citizen parent or ancestor.
Naturalisation
The standard route via continuous lawful residence.
Naturalisation via marriage
A reduced residency route for spouses of citizens.
Residency by investment (golden visa)
A residence permit obtained through investment, often leading to naturalisation.
Digital nomad / remote-work visa
A flexible, lower-barrier residency route for remote workers.
Country data
Overview, citizenship routes, economy, freedom, and tax at a glance.
Overview
- Capital
- Madrid
- Region
- Europe
- Area
- 505,992 km²
- Population
- 47,076,781
- Demonym
- Spanish
- Languages
- Spanish
- Currency
- Euro (€)
Citizenship routes
- Citizenship by descent
- Yes
- Descent depth
- Parents only
- Naturalisation period
- 10 years
- Marriage route
- 1 years
- Language level
- A2
- Dual citizenship
- Restricted
- Golden visa
- From €500,000
- Digital nomad visa
- Available
- Official application fee
- €100
Economics & development
- GDP per capita
- $38,627 2025
- Total GDP
- $1.4T 2019
- Inflation
- 2.7% 2025
- Life expectancy
- 83.9 years 2024
- GDP growth
- 2.8% 2025
- Human Development Index
- 0.911 #27
- Income group
- High income: OECD
- Development status
- Developed region: nonG7
Freedom & quality of life
- Corruption Perceptions Index
- 56 / 100 2024 · #41
- Freedom in the World
- 90 / 100 Free · 2024
- Human Rights Index
- 0.94 / 1 2025 · #13
- Liberal Democracy Index
- 0.74 / 1 2025 · #21
- Life satisfaction
- 6.54 / 10 2025 · #39
Tax considerations
- Personal income tax
- 47% top rate
- Corporate tax
- 25%
- VAT / GST
- 21%
- Tax basis
- Worldwide
- Wealth tax
- Applies
Relocation & living
- Internet penetration
- 95.8% 2024
- Driving side
- Right-hand
- Healthcare system
- Universal public
- Climate
- Mediterranean
- Time zone
- Europe/Madrid
Where the Spain passport can travel
Each dot is a destination colours show what you need to enter.
- Visa-free
- Visa on arrival
- ETA
- e-Visa
- Visa required
Europe
42 visa-free · 1 ETA · 1 e-visaAmericas
30 visa-free · 4 ETA · 1 e-visaAsia
24 visa-free · 15 on arrival · 1 ETA · 7 e-visa · 4 requiredAfrica
15 visa-free · 13 on arrival · 2 ETA · 16 e-visa · 8 requiredOceania
11 visa-free · 3 ETA- Visa-free
- Visa on arrival
- ETA
- e-Visa
- Visa required
- No admission
Alternative paths to Spain citizenship
Beyond standard naturalisation, these routes may apply to you.
Residency by investment (golden visa)
A residency-by-investment route is available from €500,000. It can be faster than naturalisation and often lets you keep your current nationality.
Digital nomad visa
A digital-nomad visa offers a flexible, lower-barrier way to establish a presence before committing to a full naturalisation path.
More citizenship guides
Greece
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 7 years; dual citizenship is permitted; a golden visa (residency by investment) is available.
- Capital
- Athens
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- 7 yrs
- Dual citizenship
- Allowed
Malta
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 5 years; dual citizenship is permitted; citizenship by investment is available; a golden visa (residency by investment) is available.
- Capital
- Valletta
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- 5 yrs
- Dual citizenship
- Allowed
Portugal
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 5 years; dual citizenship is permitted; a golden visa (residency by investment) is available.
- Capital
- Lisbon
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- 5 yrs
- Dual citizenship
- Allowed
Italy
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 10 years; dual citizenship is permitted; a golden visa (residency by investment) is available.
- Capital
- Rome
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- 10 yrs
- Dual citizenship
- Allowed
Latest Spain immigration news
Recent headlines on Spain immigration and citizenship, auto-fetched from Google News.
No recent headlines yet. Check back soon, or follow the official sources below.
Spain immigration & citizenship sources
Official government portals and reference pages for Spain citizenship and immigration rules.
Law
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Overview of citizenship-by-descent, naturalisation and dual-citizenship rules.
Government
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Official government source for immigration and citizenship.
Jobs
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International job board with local listings.
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International job board with local listings.
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Leading local job board.
Housing
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Property listings and rentals.
Healthcare
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Public health system portal.
Banking
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Central bank / banking information.
General data sources & licenses
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Visa-requirement matrix and passport mobility scores.
Visa data derived from passportindex.org, via imorte/passport-index-data (MIT License).
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Country metadata: names, capitals, regions, flags, currencies, languages, calling codes, borders, tld, lat/lng, UN/independence status.
Country metadata from mledoze/countries (MIT License).
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Country polygon geometry plus population, GDP (total), income group, economy, and continent classifications.
Made with Natural Earth (public domain) naturalearthdata.com.
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Raster basemap tiles for the interactive visa-access maps.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0).
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GDP per capita (current US$) and inflation (CPI annual %).
GDP per capita and inflation from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0) data.worldbank.org.
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Human Development Index (HDI) values and ranks.
Human Development Index from the UNDP Human Development Report (CC BY 3.0 IGO).
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Intermediate distribution of the Corruption Perceptions Index, V-Dem Human Rights Index, and V-Dem Liberal Democracy Index.
Indices sourced via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0).
Our World in Data states that third-party datasets remain subject to the original publisher’s license see the individual sources below.
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Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) scores.
Corruption Perceptions Index 2024, Transparency International (CC BY-ND 4.0).
Restrictions: No derivatives
CPI scores are reproduced as factual data points, unmodified.
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Human Rights Index and Liberal Democracy Index.
Human Rights Index and Liberal Democracy Index from V-Dem (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
Restrictions: Non-commercial · Share-alike
⚠ Non-commercial license: confirm commercial use is permitted before monetising the site.
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Freedom in the World scores and status.
Freedom in the World 2024, © Freedom House (used with attribution for informational purposes).
Review Freedom House republication terms before commercial use.
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Reference for personal income and corporate tax rates.
Tax rates cross-checked against the Tax Foundation.
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Reference for personal income tax, corporate tax, and VAT/GST rates.
Tax rates cross-checked against the OECD Tax Database.
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Reference for personal income tax, corporate tax, and indirect tax rates.
Tax rates cross-checked against KPMG Tax Rates Online.
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Reference for citizenship-law rules (descent, naturalisation, dual citizenship, fees).
Citizenship-law facts compiled from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Law facts are human-curated approximations; always verify with official government sources.
Citizenship Hub is an independent resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of the organisations above. Informational only not legal, immigration, tax, investment, or travel advice. Requirements, scores, fees, and tax rates change frequently; always verify with the relevant official government source before acting.