Spanish Citizenship by Descent and Option

1. Apply365-730 days
2. Citizenshipgranted

Country

Spain

Program

Spanish Citizenship by Descent and Option

Local name

Nacionalidad española de origen y por opción

Type

Citizenship by Descent

Status

Active

Processing time

365-730 days

Dual citizenship

Not allowed

Visa-free countries

186 destinations

Passport rank

#3 (Henley Index)

Spanish nationality by origin is acquired by a person born to a Spanish father or mother, subject to the applicable rules on parentage and nationality at birth. Separate rights of option are available to certain people under Spanish parental authority and to people whose father or mother was Spanish and born in Spain, with additional limited cases and filing periods. Eligible applicants register or exercise the option through the Civil Registry, including the competent consular registry for applicants abroad.

No fees listed for this program.

• Police clearance not required
• Medical exam not required
• Oath required
• Renunciation required

Generational limit

2 generation(s)

Ancestor citizenship

Must have been citizen

Naturalization breaks chain

Yes — foreign naturalization may end eligibility

Method

In person

Apply from abroad

Yes

Application type

Open

Official website

administracion.gob.es

Legal basis

Código Civil Arts. 17, 20 and 23; Ley 20/2011 del Registro Civil

This record covers permanent nationality by origin through a Spanish parent and the continuing statutory option categories in Civil Code Article 20; it excludes the time-limited Democratic Memory Law option recorded separately. Nationality by origin generally follows a parent-to-child line, but transmission depends on the parent’s status when the child was born and retention rules for some people born and resident abroad. Option rights have age or event-based deadlines in some cases. Applicants abroad use the competent Spanish consular Civil Registry. Nationality acquired by origin does not require residence, language/civics tests, renunciation or the acquisition oath. The Article 20 option process may require formal declarations and should not be treated as identical to automatic nationality by origin.

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1. Oct 9, 2026

   Added

   added continuing descent/origin and Article 20 option route as a separate record from the closed Democratic Memory Law procedure Source