Spain grants citizenship via residency to 220,000+ foreigners in one year

Spain granted nationality through residency to a total of 221,805 foreigners in 2024.

This new figure is 8.9 percent lower than the 243,481 granted in 2023, the highest figure in the entire historical series since 2009. But 2024's annual total is still the third highest over the past 15 years.

The data provided by Spain's Immigration Observatory confirms an upward trend of the number of people successfully applying for Spanish nationality.

Much of this is down to automation - in other words using bots - when reviewing applications, an effective way to alleviate the backlog and streamline the citizenship paperwork.

READ MORE: Why getting Spanish citizenship now takes months rather than years

The highest number of Spanish nationalities granted since records began was in 2013 when Spain gave total of 261,295 people citizenship.

The majority of people granted citizenship are of Ibero-American origin with Venezuelans taking the top spot with 33,021 citizenships granted.

This is followed by Moroccans with 29,033. In third place are Colombians with 27,946 citizenships granted, then Hondurans with 13,915, Peruvians with 10,799, Ecuadorians with 9,925 and Argentinians with 9,165.

The average age of foreign nationals who obtained nationality based on residency in 2024 was 34, and 57 percent were women. Almost 70 percent of those with successful applications were between the ages of 18 and 49.

The vast majority of people – a total of 61 percent have been granted nationality after two years of legal residence in Spain, as is the case with those from Latin American countries. These citizens of Ibero-American countries also have the option of keeping their original passports as dual nationality is allowed for them.

READ ALSO: Can you have Spanish citizenship denied for not being integrated enough?

In addition to acquisition through residency, Spanish nationality can also be acquired by origin and by naturalisation.

Twenty-four percent acquired citizenship after just one year because they were born in Spain (32,572), married a Spaniard (20,185), or they are the children or grandchildren of a person with Spanish nationality (637).

A total of 13 percent achieved it after ten years of legal residency in Spain – 99 percent of them Moroccans, while only 17 people were granted residency through asylum, which requires a period of five years.

READ ALSO: Why it's no surprise so few Brits have applied for Spanish citizenship since Brexit

To be granted Spanish nationality through residency, applicants need to have good civic conduct, a sufficient degree of integration into Spanish society, and have resided in Spain legally and continuously for a period of time immediately prior to the application.

For those born in Spain and for those who have married a Spaniard it's one year; for those with previous nationality from an Ibero-American country Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal, and Sephardic Jews it's two years; for those those who have obtained refugee status it's 5 years; and for the rest it's 10 years.

It's worth noting that Spain also rejected a record number of citizenship applications in 2024, a total of 20,099.

This is more than double the number of rejections that were issued in 2023, which was a total of 7,399 people.

READ ALSO: Spain rejects record number of citizenship applications

Experts believe this could be down to the fact that more applications which were stuck in limbo are now being processed, the number of applicants keep increasing and technological advancements means the process is now quicker, so more people can be rejected quicker too if they don’t meet the requirements.

Another reason is that Spain extended the deadline to apply for citizenship through the Grandchildren's Law (Ley de Nietos in Spanish) until the end of 2025, which was initially scheduled to be October 2024.