How Spanish citizenship by descent works
The eligibility rules for Spanish citizenship by descent, in plain English — who may qualify, what disqualifies, and the legal regimes over time, each cited to its primary statute.
Who may qualify
A qualifying path — via the jure sanguinis route
Requirements
ALL of the following
Must NOT be true
the applicant's link to the qualifying ancestor is by adoption (rather than by birth).
- tie is adoptive:
- yes
the applicant must be the parent of the qualifying ancestor.
- relationship:
- parent
the qualifying ancestor must have held spanish citizenship at the moment the applicant was born, passing it down the line by descent.
- required citizenship:
- spanish
Primary sources
- § Código Civil, Art. 17 — Spanish nationality by origin (child of a Spanish citizen)
- § Código Civil, Art. 24 — second-generation-born-abroad must declare retention (ages 18-21) or lose citizenship; chain-break must be recorded as citizenship_held.lost_at (see NEEDS-PRIMITIVE note)
A qualifying path — via the jure sanguinis route
Requirements
ALL of the following
the applicant has a qualifying adoption (was finalized). If this fact is absent, the rule treats it as not applying (rather than asking for more information).
- was finalized:
- true
the applicant has a recorded adoption such that adoption type = full. If this fact is absent, the rule treats it as not applying (rather than asking for more information).
- adoption type:
- full
Citizenship must have passed to the applicant through a finalized adoption, with the adoptive parent holding spanish citizenship at the time of the adoption, and the adoption finalized before the applicant turned 18.
- required citizenship:
- spanish
- adoption before age:
- 18
Primary sources
- § Código Civil, Art. 19.1 — a foreign child under 18 adopted by a Spanish national acquires Spanish nationality BY ORIGIN from the adoption (full adoption / adopción plena only; the adopting parent need only be Spanish at the adoption)
A qualifying path — via the declaration route
Requirements
ALL of the following
the qualifying ancestor has a qualifying originally spanish and born in spain (confirmed).
- confirmed:
- true
the qualifying ancestor must have held spanish citizenship at the moment the applicant was born, passing it down the line by descent.
- required citizenship:
- spanish
Primary sources
- § Código Civil, Art. 20.1.b — option for nationality where a parent was ORIGINALLY Spanish (Spanish by origin, not by naturalization) and born in Spain (no age deadline)
A qualifying path — via the declaration route
Date keying
- In force until 2025-10-23 (exclusive) — keyed on the assessment date, not on anyone's birth.
Requirements
the applicant must have documented spanish_civil_war_descendant heritage, backed by a formal attestation document (e.g. a community-committee certificate).
- heritage type:
- spanish_civil_war_descendant
- attestation required:
- yes
Primary sources
- § Ley 20/2022 de Memoria Democrática — Disposición adicional octava ('Ley de Nietos', Grandchildren Law); deadline 22 Oct 2025 (no extension; applications with a CSV continue processing)
A qualifying path — via the residency naturalization route
Requirements
ALL of the following
ANY of the following
the applicant must be the parent of the qualifying ancestor.
- relationship:
- parent
the applicant must be the grandparent of the qualifying ancestor.
- relationship:
- grandparent
the qualifying ancestor must have held spanish citizenship at the moment the applicant was born, passing it down the line by descent.
- required citizenship:
- spanish
the qualifying ancestor has a qualifying originally spanish (confirmed).
- confirmed:
- true
the applicant must have been physically present in spain for at least 1 years.
- country:
- spain
- years of presence required:
- 1
the applicant has a recorded language certificate such that certificate = dele_a2.
- certificate:
- dele_a2
the applicant has a recorded civics test such that test = ccse, confirmed = true.
- test:
- ccse
- confirmed:
- true
Primary sources
- § Código Civil, Art. 22.2.f — reduced 1-year residency for a person whose father, mother, grandfather, or grandmother was originally Spanish
- § Requires DELE A2 language certificate + CCSE civics test (Instituto Cervantes) — modeled as fact-kind gates
See how these rules apply to your family
The free eligibility check walks your own lineage through these rules — no account, no card, about two minutes.
Check your Spanish eligibility