The number of foreigners acquiring Spanish nationality increased by almost 19% in 2025

The Diplomat A total of 299,732 foreign residents in Spain acquired Spanish nationality during 2025, representing an 18.7% increase compared to the previous year and the highest figure in the series, according to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), which has published this study since 2015, although with data dating back to 2013. According to the Statistics on Acquisitions of Spanish Nationality by Residents for 2025, published this Thursday, May 28, by the INE, the most frequent nationalities of origin in 2025 were Morocco (42,114), Colombia (37,712), and Venezuela (36,271). After Morocco, the next nine countries are all in Latin America and the Caribbean (in addition to Colombia and Venezuela, these include Honduras, Peru, Cuba, Ecuador, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua). The most frequent country of birth for those acquiring Spanish nationality was Spain, with 52,886 cases. Among those born outside Spain, the most frequent country of birth was Colombia, with 37,094 acquisitions, very close behind Venezuela (35,428). Furthermore, of the 299,732 people residing in Spain who acquired Spanish nationality in 2025, 16.7% had always resided in Spain, while the remaining 83.3% had previously resided abroad. The most frequent arrival years for those who acquired Spanish nationality in 2025 ranged from 2018 to 2019, and from 2021 to 2022. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the figure was significantly lower than in the surrounding years, but still considerably higher than the annual figures recorded between 2010 and 2016. The year with the most naturalizations in 2025 was 2019, with 32,176. This means that these individuals took, on average, around six years to acquire Spanish nationality. Regarding the methods of acquiring Spanish nationality, 253,836 cases were by residence and 45,715 by option (a legal right that allows individuals with family or legal ties to Spaniards to acquire Spanish citizenship without needing to meet the habitual residence requirements). This latter method was particularly prevalent among young people, as 88.9 percent of all acquisitions by option were made by individuals under 20 years of age. Catalonia (with 70,933 cases) and the Community of Madrid (with 69,566) accounted for 46.9 percent of all new Spanish nationalities acquired in 2025. In contrast, La Rioja (1,719) and Extremadura (1,764) were the autonomous communities with the fewest new nationalities acquired by their residents. Of the foreign nationals who acquired Spanish nationality in 2025, 55.4 percent were women and 44.6 percent were men. By age, the 30-39 age group was the largest group acquiring Spanish nationality, followed by the 40-49 age group.

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