– Law 12/2015 of 24 June, granting Spanish nationality to Sephardic Jews (originating from Spain)
– Law 19/2015 of 13 July, on administrative reform of the Civil Registry, which also regulates the procedures for obtaining Spanish nationality.
Among the new highlights the need to have a minimum DELE A2 or higher for those who do not come from Spanish-speaking countries, and pass a new exam called Constitutional and Sociocultural Knowledge Spain (CCSE in Spanish). These two exams or at least CCSE (for Hispanics) must be approved before starting the procedures for obtaining citizenship.
People from countries whose native language is Spanish are exempt from making the DELE exam, but must also undergo testing CCSE. Minors or persons requiring special care shall be exempt from both exams.
The DELE Examination is well known worldwide for being the only international official certification test the level of Spanish as a foreign language. Commonly addressed contents are widely studied in schools of Spanish in all countries, and evaluating skills are clearly explained by the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (levels A1, A2, B2, B2, C1 and C2).
The CCSE exam, however, is quite novel, and its content is very broad and diverse, what worries who will have to confront it in the coming months. It is known that the main reference for the review will be the Spanish Constitution but there will be also be questions about the government, law and citizen participation in Spain (60% of the questions), and on culture, history, geography and Spanish society (remaining 40% ). The advantage is that CCSE exam questions are two options (true or false, but some can have a third option), so when in doubt it is always possible to risk with a 50% chance of success. In the PDF document prepared by the Cervantes Institute there are some examples of questions that may appear on the CCSE exam. We will also be publishing several simulations of this review so you can practice at home.
At TANDEM we have created courses to help you successfully pass both exams:
- Preparation course for DELE A2
- CCSE nationality exam
- Preparation course for DELE A2 via videoconference
- Preparation course for CCSE exam via videoconference
On the one hand these new requirements represent an additional effort for people who wish to obtain Spanish nationality, but also has positive aspects. As well as being a challenge, where you can test your knowledge of Spain, it also drives the future Spanish citizens to better integrate themselves into the society that has welcomed them, improving the understanding of their environment and their future prospects, both personally and professionally.
