Spanish citizenship DELE and CCSE tests...how difficult are they?

linsaywv Active member

Member since 06 July 2022

linsaywvActive member03 August 2022 14:47:19

Regarding the Spanish citizenship DELE and CCSE tests that one has to take during the citizenship process, are they very difficult or moderately difficult to pass with basic or above basic Spanish grammar and vocabulary?

Has anyone done the process and tests when applying for Spanish citizenship? How do they find them and how difficult are they, any insights are appreciated.

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GuestPoster23092 Guest

GuestPoster23092Guest03 August 2022 15:07:16

I did them two years ago and for me, no, they were not as difficult as I expected. Honestly they sound far worse then they are, but in my case as I needed to have been resident 10 years before i applied, they were no probem. It was just a case of preparation.

The DELE level that is required is one of the lowest levels. The test involved written, comprehension and oral tests, but the language was a basic conversation level. In my case I speak spanish to a much higher level than was required because I need to for work.

The CCSE test sounds more difficult but there is a lot of free support available. Its a paper with 30 questions (if I remember rightly) ranging from politics, geography to culture. Most of the questions are general knowledge any way if youve lived here a long time. The 30 questions come from a larger pool of questions and they rotate the questions each test. I used a free App avaialble for my mobile which had all the questions loaded in so I could test whenever. There are books and courses you can buy, I never used them.

linsaywv Active member

Member since 06 July 2022

linsaywvActive member21 August 2022 18:24:24

During the Spanish citizenship process if one does not pass the language test, for example, when can the applicant reapply and do the test again or reapply?

Phil722 Active member

Member since 21 November 2018

Phil722Active member22 August 2022 15:16:46

I completely agree with jwmadrid.

I easily passed both on the first try.

DELE: My Spanish was pretty good, but Mexican. I studied the vosotros form for about 2 months before the exam, as well as studied what parts of my vocabulary were modismos mexicanos. There was one person in my "test class" who arrived on test day without having studied, claiming that he had lived in Colombia for a year and was completely fluent. He failed because his grammar was atrocious (I'm NOT saying that Colombians have bad grammar, but he sure did.) Tips: when you're in the conversation parts (photo description, 1-to-1 conversation) PIVOT to what YOU want to talk about. The photo reminded me of an incident that happened in Mexico, so I just told the teacher about the incident (which I had rehearsed). With the 1-to-1, I just flirted shamelessly. In Mexico, casual flirting is part of shopping in the mercados, and I was totally comfortable doing it. There are a ton of DELE A2 videos on youtube, as well as lots of excellent review books. My favorite videos were by "Dale a la Lengua"

The CCSE was easy imho. Although I'm in my 60s, my student skills all came back to me instantly. I studied with the numerous flashcard apps, and felt that I could memorize just about all the questions. There are only 300, and you probably know most of them already. Use the Cervantes study guide to be sure you're studying the correct group!

And most of all, relax. If you're prepared, you'll do fine!

bocheball Active member

Member since 26 February 2018

bocheballActive member29 August 2022 11:48:47

Unlike others here I did not find it so easy. I was not from a Spanish speaking country and my stays in Spain were never more than the legal 90 days. I did however take Spanish classes in my home country, USA, and in Spain and Central America. The DELE part was not too bad, except for the listening section where they played audio recordings, many of radio or TV announcements. The dialogue was rapid and difficult to understand.

CCSE was brutal because you had to study a 99 page pamphlet. I was hoping for more questions about Spanish culture which I was familiar with, but most were about the government. Still, magically, I passed.

I think for Spanish speakers the test is a breeze. Good luck.