WHAT ARE THE FEES?
Last October 2015 a reform took effect modifying the procedure to acquire Spanish citizenship due to residence. Up until now the procedure has been free of charge, however, now it can cost anywhere between 185€ – 306€ depending on if the applicant originates from a country where the official language is not Spanish and therefore has to take a Spanish language exam on top of the mandatory Spanish socio-cultural and constitutional exam (85€) and the 100€ admnistration fee to submit the application.
All foreigners who want to apply for Spanish nationality must pay the 100€ administration fee to start the procedure regardless of the end result. If not granted Spanish citizenship, the applicant will not be reimbursed.
What does the socio-cultural and Spanish constitutional exam consist of? It is a test containing 25 questions. Applicants must answer at least 15 correctly in 45 minutes in order to pass. The fee for this exam is 85€ and it includes two test periods in case the applicant has to retake the exam.
Foreigners who do not originate from countries where Spanish is the official language must also take the language exam at the Cervantes Institute in order to obtain the Spanish A2 DELE certificate. The exam costs 124€. Foreigners who originate from countries where Spanish is the official language do not have to take the DELE A2 exam, however, they must pass the socio-cultural and Spanish constitutional exam. This exam is mandatory for all applicants. Only those who are under the age of 18 or those of impaired capacity proven by the law are exempt from this requirement.
Translated by: Katherine Pascal