Spanish Citizenship by Descent

The Spanish government offers citizenship by descent to people who are the descendants of people with Spanish nationality. Recent updates in laws have expanded this eligibility to include people who have grandparents or great-grandparents who were Spanish citizens. This law aims to take corrective action to repair the damage caused by the Spanish Civil War and the Franco Dictatorship, and aims to extend its citizenship offering to those of grandparents who fled or were exiled during this period.

Obtaining Spanish Citizenship means that you have the same rights and benefits as a person born in Spain for life, this includes unlimited travel in Europe without a visa and unrestricted rights to live, work and study in Spain and EU member states.

Spain is known for having particularly good benefits for its nationals, and holding a Spanish passport means you can also access their excellent national education, healthcare and social security, and enjoy visa-free travel to 192 countries and territories around the world.

Applying for citizenship through this route is especially beneficial as it is much faster than applying for permanent residence through holding a visa, it is also more cost effective as it saves the fees from re-applying for new visas and residence permits every few years. However, while this is typically the fastest route, it is much more complex than the usual route to citizenship.

Page Contents

• Overview of Spanish Citizenship by Descent
• Eligibility Requirements for Citizenship by Descent in Spain
• Naturalisation Eligibility Criteria
• Steps to Applying for Spanish Citizenship through Descent
• Documents Required for Spanish Citizenship by Descent
• Fees and Processing Times for Spanish Citizenship by Descent
• Other Options to Obtain Spanish Citizenship
• How Can Total Law Help?
• Frequently Asked Questions

The key requirement when applying for Spanish Citizenship by Descent is your relationship to the Spanish national in your family and your ability to provide evidence as part of your application.

The relationships that are accepted are as follows:

• One of your parents is a Spanish national
• Both of your parents were born in Spain
• One of your adoptive parents (from before you turned 18 years old) is a Spanish national
• One of your grandparents is or was Spanish
• You have Spanish ancestors who have Spanish Citizenship

If your grandparent was a Spanish national, it may be that you were not able to receive Spanish nationality by origin at the time because you were under 18 years old when the law was put into place and were therefore not eligible to apply.

You may also apply to obtain Spanish Citizenship if your parent or grandparent were exiled, lost or renounced their nationality, left Spain, and had you or your parent from outside of the country. Additionally, you may be eligible if your Spanish mother or grandmother lost her citizenship in Spain through marriage before the 1978 Constitution.

Naturalisation is an alternative route for people who want to become permanent Spanish nationals. There is also a fast-tracked option for those who are children or grandchildren of Spanish nationals. Naturalisation requires the individual to have lived in Spain for a period of time (typically 10 years for those with no Spanish descent); however, you may be able to apply for naturalisation after only one year of living in Spain if you were:

• Born outside of Spain to a Spanish parent
• Born outside of Spain but have a Spanish grandparent

If you wish to apply for citizenship through this route, you must not have spent more than three consecutive months outside of Spain and must have lived in Spain for at least one continuous year at the point of application.

As an individual with citizenship from the Philippines, you may be able to apply for fast-track naturalisation after living in Spain for a minimum of two years.

All applications for Spanish Citizenship must be made in person at either a civil registry, consulate or embassy where you live.

If you are in Spain, you can submit your Citizenship by Descent application from within the country at the Central Civil Registry, and if you are in the Philippines, you can apply and have your visa interview at your nearest Spanish consulate. If you decide to choose to apply for the fast-track naturalisation, you will have to visit your closest Spanish consulate.

To apply for Spanish Citizenship, you will have to take a Spanish language test and the citizenship exams, which can be taken at the Spanish embassy in the Philippines, or in Spain in one of the accredited test centres.

As you will have to provide evidence of your relationship to your Spanish parent or grandparent, it is recommended that you take a genetic test to formally prove your relationship.

When applying to obtain Spanish Citizenship by Descent, you may need to collate the following documents as part of your application depending on your circumstances:

• Birth certificate for your Spanish parent
• Birth certificate for your Spanish grandparent
• Birth certificate from your parent, proving their relationship to your grandparent
• Your birth certificate
• Any Spanish marriage certificates issued before 1978
• Death certificates
• Current valid passport and resident document
• Certificates from your Spanish language and residency exams
• Employment contract from your Spanish employer
• Evidence of your oath at the Civil Registry
• Proof of exile status of any grandparents
• Documentation from refugee offices of host states that supported Spanish refugees and their families
• Documentation of when your grandparents travelled to and settled in the host country they settled in following exile
• Proof of legal residency

As your application is based on your heritage, it is critical that you can provide certified proof of your relationship to your Spanish parent or grandparent, and any grandparents who left Spain between 1936 and 1955 will be assumed to have been exiled and you must prove their departure during this time.

Any documents that are not in Spanish will need to be legalised and translated by a certified translator; both the original and translated copy will need to be included in your application.

Collating these documents can be particularly challenging for applicants, and instructing a legal professional can ensure your application contains all the necessary information to support your case. Speak to Total Law today on +44 (0) 333 305 9375 for assistance with your visa application.

Applying for citizenship by descent can cost €60-100. The Spanish  citizenship exam can cost €85.

The Spanish government aims to respond to applications within one year of your application being submitted, but there are often long processing times and it may take up to three years to receive a decision on your application.

There are also other timescales to take into consideration; it can take up to three months to receive your language and citizenship test results, and also any delays associated with receiving any genetic test results must be included.

If you don’t fill the eligibility criteria for citizenship by descent, there are other ways you could work towards obtaining Spanish Citizenship. For example, if you live in Spain with a temporary residence permit and one of the eligible long-term visas, after five consecutive years, you can apply for permanent residency. Then, after 10 consecutive years, you will be able to take the citizenship and language exam and apply for Spanish Citizenship.

If you plan to eventually obtain Spanish Citizenship, it is essential to ensure you are in Spain with one of the eligible long-term visas and maintain a clean criminal record. If you are married to a Spanish national or citizen, you may also be eligible for citizenship through your partner’s status.