Around 14,390 Cubans became Spanish citizens in 2025, 79% more than the previous year, according to the INE
14ymedio, Madrid, 31 May 2026 / Cubans ranked among the leading groups of foreigners to acquire Spanish nationality in 2025, according to data published last Thursday by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
A total of 14,390 Cuban-born citizens obtained Spanish citizenship during the past year, a figure that places Cuba as the sixth most common country of origin among new Spanish nationals, surpassed only by Morocco, Colombia, Venezuela, Honduras and Peru, and ahead of much more populous countries such as Ecuador, Argentina, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.
Compared to the 8,045 Cuban-born citizens who obtained Spanish nationality in 2024, last year’s figure represents almost double. Cubans represent one of the Latin American migrant communities with the greatest growth in Spain in recent years, a consequence of the wave of emigration triggered by the economic and political crisis on the island.
Cubans – among nationals of Ibero-American countries – enjoy advantages when it comes to obtaining Spanish citizenship, as they may apply for it after two years of legal residence, compared with the ten years generally required. In addition, many benefit from the so-called Democratic Memory Law, which allows descendants of emigrated Spaniards to obtain nationality. This law has had a particular impact in Cuba, where more than 600,000 people have begun or completed the process through this route.
At the start of 2025, there were 252,290 residents born in Cuba living in Spain, according to INE reports. In the subsequent months, a further 43,300 arrivals from the island were recorded, according to the Continuous Population Statistics, as of 1 April 2026.
At the start of 2025, there were 252,290 residents born in Cuba living in Spain. In the subsequent months, a further 43,300 arrivals from the island were recorded.
According to the Jesuit Refugee Service, in 2025 there were 88,367 residents born in Cuba who retained Cuban nationality, and 61,209 held a residence permit. This is a population group that is “growing notably,” the organisation noted. Based on data from the start of 2025 provided by the Foundation of Savings Banks (Funcas), the centre estimated that the number of Cubans in an irregular situation in Spain stood at around 16,000, while 72,270 had legal or “quasi-legal” residency.
14ymedio has reported on several occasions on Cuba’s demographic collapse. The government acknowledges a population of fewer than 10 million inhabitants, while demographer Juan Carlos Albizu-Campos argues that the effective population may be around eight million – 24% less than just four years ago. Between 2021 and 2024, Cuba lost more than one million inhabitants to emigration.
In total, Spain granted nationality to 299,732 foreigners in 2025, the highest figure in the past decade.
In total, Spain granted nationality to 299,732 foreigners in 2025, the highest figure in the past decade. This represents an increase of 18.7% on the previous year.
The majority of the new citizens were of Latin American origin.Most of the grants were made on the grounds of residency. Of the nearly 300,000 applications resolved favourably, 253,836 corresponded to this procedure. The report also notes that the most common year of arrival among those who obtained nationality was 2019, indicating that the full process from arrival to the granting of citizenship took around six years in the majority of cases.
Catalonia, with 70,933 new Spanish citizens, and the Community of Madrid, with 69,566, together accounted for nearly half of all nationalisations recorded across the country.
Translated by GH.
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