Double nationality with Spain: countries with agreement and requirements 2026
What it means to have dual nationality with Spain
Dual nationality means you're a citizen of two countries at the same time. You have a passport from both, you can work in both, and you can vote in both. You don't give up your roots.
But heads up: Spain doesn't allow this with every country. It only works automatically — without you having to give up your previous nationality — if your country has a bilateral agreement signed with Spain.
If your country does not have an agreement, you'll need to formally renounce your nationality of origin when you swear the Spanish one. On paper. At the Civil Registry. Although in practice, some countries don't recognize that renunciation, so you could end up keeping both passports de facto.
Countries with a dual nationality agreement with Spain (full 2026 list)
Spain maintains dual nationality agreements with Ibero-American countries and a few others. If you're from one of these countries, you can obtain Spanish nationality without giving up yours:
| Country | Agreement in force since |
|---|---|
| Argentina | 1971 |
| Bolivia | 1964 |
| Chile | 1958 |
| Colombia | 1980 |
| Costa Rica | Yes |
| Cuba | Yes |
| Ecuador | 1964 |
| Guatemala | Yes |
| Honduras | 1967 |
| Mexico | Yes |
| Nicaragua | 1962 |
| Paraguay | 1960 |
| Peru | 1960 |
| Dominican Republic | 1969 |
| Uruguay | Yes |
| Venezuela | Yes |
| Brazil | Yes |
| El Salvador | Yes |
| Panama | Yes |
| Portugal | Yes |
| Andorra | Yes |
| Philippines | Yes |
| Equatorial Guinea | Yes |
| France | 2022 |
France is the only EU country (outside the Iberian Peninsula) with a dual nationality agreement with Spain. If you're French, you can become a Spanish national without giving up your French passport. But keep in mind: the agreement doesn't reduce the amount of time you need to have lived here.
Don't see your country? If you're from Morocco, China, the United States, Pakistan, or any other country not on the list, you'll have to formally renounce your nationality when you obtain Spanish citizenship.
The most expensive mistake people make
Here's something a lot of people don't know, and it ends up costing them time — sometimes more than a year of delays:
Just one day in an irregular situation can reset the clock on your years. The residency you need to apply for nationality has to be legal, continuous, and immediately prior to your application. If your permit expired for a month and you didn't renew it in time, that period may not count.
The most common trap is thinking that time spent in Spain on a student visa counts. It doesn't. Years of residency for study purposes don't count toward nationality.
Another frequent mistake: submitting your country's criminal record certificate when it's expired or without an apostille. The document needs to be legalized in your home country and, if it's not in Spanish, translated by an official translator.
How many years you need to live in Spain: the exact timeframes
Not everyone needs the same amount of time. Here are the real timeframes depending on your situation:
| Timeframe | Who does it apply to? |
|---|---|
| 1 year | Married to a Spanish citizen (at least 1 year of marriage), born in Spain, widowed from a Spanish citizen, under Spanish guardianship for 2 years |
| 2 years | Nationals of Ibero-American countries, Portugal, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, and people of Sephardic origin |
| 5 years | People with recognized refugee status in Spain |
| 10 years | General case (all other nationalities) |
Watch out for this: The 2 years under the Ibero-American agreement are counted from when you have legal residency, not from when you arrived in Spain. If you arrived without papers and then regularized your situation, the clock starts from the date of your first residence card.
Requirements to apply for Spanish nationality
Meeting the residency requirement is just the first step. You also need to prove integration and good civic conduct. Specifically, here's what they'll ask you for:
- Valid passport in full (all pages, including blank ones)
- Birth certificate from your country, apostilled and translated if it's not in Spanish
- Criminal record certificate from your home country, apostilled (for those over 18)
- Spanish criminal record certificate
- Up-to-date certificate of municipal registration (empadronamiento)
- Copy of your valid Foreigner Identity Card (TIE)
- Passed CCSE certificate (constitutional knowledge test)
- DELE A2 certificate or higher (language test), except if you're from a Spanish-speaking country
- Proof of payment of the fee: €104.05 (form 790 code 026)
The Instituto Cervantes exams: The CCSE exam costs €85 and is scheduled