How to Obtain Spanish Citizenship by Descent

As one of Europe’s most sought-after destinations to live, Spain needs little introduction.

A global hotspot for high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), it also offers a variety of ways to secure ‌residence.

And while the Spanish Golden Visa might be a popular way to get into this European country, it’s not cheap. You’d need to put at least €500,000 into Spanish real estate, business or financial assets to be eligible.

Plus, the clock is ticking on this particular golden visa, with the Spanish Government targeting to end of the program in January 2025. 

Across Europe, golden visa programs are rapidly vanishing or changing, so if you’re interested in Spain’s Golden Visa, you need to act now. 

But are Spain’s golden beaches, tapas bars and exquisite culture worth the half-a-million euro investment?

Maybe.

However, if you happen to have Spanish ancestry or are from a Spanish-American country, you could get your Spanish citizenship for a fraction of the cost.

Read on to find out how you can get Spanish citizenship by descent. Here, we guide you through the eligibility criteria as well as the application process, which can sometimes take up to three years.

And don’t forget that we recently started offering our premium citizenship-by-descent program to help you navigate the whole process.

What is Citizenship by Descent?

In the offshore world,  second (and subsequent) passports are some of the most coveted assets you can have.

They don’t just expand your options – lifestyle, residence, investment and more – they give you the freedom to live life on your own terms. 

Has your home nation become too much of a burden because the government has raised your income tax rate? By exiting the system properly, you won’t be liable to pay the tax anymore.

Easy as pie.

If you’ve been chatting with your great-aunt or a second-removed cousin, and they have casually mentioned that your family has ancestry in some far-away country (usually European), you could do worse than check it out.

Many countries offer citizenship-by-descent (CBD) programs that let people use their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and sometimes more distant relatives to claim citizenship.

You must prove that you’re eligible by gathering all of the required documents – a process that can involve lots of digging around in national archives and boxes in attics.

After that, submitting your application is usually a straightforward albeit time-consuming process.

Spain Citizenship by Descent

Spain has a long tradition of granting citizenship by descent, and recent legal reforms have made it even more accessible. 

Spanish citizenship is based on jus sanguinis, which translates to right of blood. In other words, citizenship is not based solely on the location of where an individual was born if the bloodline of a Spanish citizen can be established.

One such way to establish a bloodline in Spain is by taking advantage of the Spanish Law of Historical Memory.

Like many other European countries, Spain’s citizens faced injustices, persecution and even exile during the Spanish Civil War as well as during the dictatorship period.

So, to partially compensate for people losing their land, homes, and sometimes even life, the Spanish government has set up this program to allow the descendants of Spanish citizens to obtain citizenship of Spain.

Spanish Citizenship by Descent Eligibility

The most important thing to get to grips with in the entire citizenship-by-descent process is eligibility.

You could spend months putting the paperwork together, only to later find out that the ancestor you wanted to base your application on is excluded from the law.

Or, you could think that you’re eligible on the basis of your great-grandparents but later find your application rejected because you can only go down to your grandparents when tracing the bloodline.

It truly pays to do your heritage homework and make absolutely certain that you’re eligible to apply for citizenship by descent in Spain.

Who’s eligible to apply for Spanish citizenship on the basis of their ancestry? Anyone who has a parent or grandparent of Spanish heritage. You cannot go further down the bloodline.

There are three scenarios, each of which will make you eligible:

• One or both of your parents is a Spanish citizen
• Your grandparent(s) lost or were forced to forfeit their Spanish citizenship as a consequence of their exile
• You’re a Latin American citizen with a grandparent born in Spain.

If none of these really fit the bill, don’t despair.

We’d advise you to still get some professional advice. That’s because there are various exemptions and nuances to the Spanish citizenship law that are too complicated to set out here.

It would be worthwhile checking in with us if you have a Spanish ancestor and are really desperate for a European passport.

Applying for Spanish Citizenship by Descent 

We won’t be the first ones to tell you that legal processes in Spain take an eternity and can be terribly frustrating.

Efficient it is not – think roadblocks, indifferent bureaucrats and giant stacks of paperwork – all translated and apostilled, of course.

There is even a saying in Spain, ‘Las cosas de Palacio van despacio’ that loosely translates to ‘all things take time’.

One can expect citizenship by descent in Spain to take at least a year and a half, but it can take double that.

Yet, where there’s a will, there is a way (or, you can opt to take advantage of our all-inclusive citizenship by descent service, and we’ll make it happen for you).

Luckily, all applications have a low government fee of approximately €100 and can be fully submitted electronically. You can also opt to do it at your nearest Spanish Embassy or Consulate.

You will need to book an appointment several weeks in advance and pull together the following paperwork:

• Relevant form for applying through parents or grandparents

• Your birth certificate, issued by a local Civil Registry Office abroad, legalised with an apostille

• The birth certificate of the Spanish parent issued by a Spanish Civil Registry, Consular or Municipal, or by a foreign Civil Registry

• The birth certificate of the Spanish grandfather or grandmother of the applicant, issued by a municipal Civil Registry in Spain. If they were born before 1870, a Spanish baptism certificate may be presented instead

• The birth certificate linking your father or mother with the grandfather or grandmother, if applicable

• Documentation that proves the exile status of the grandfather and grandmother, if applicable.

After your citizenship application is submitted, the officials legally have 12 months to get it all processed and get back to you with either a positive or a negative result.

If, after all these months of waiting, your application gets rejected, don’t despair. While we haven’t heard of anyone needing to appeal their decision, it’s an avenue that’s open to you.

You can lodge your appeal either directly with the Ministry of Justice or at your nearest Spanish consulate.

If you’re successful in having your application approved, you will need to give an oath to obey the Spanish constitution and laws, as well as swear your loyalty to the King of Spain.

The very final step will be applying for a passport; citizenship isn’t worth much if you don’t have the document that proves it.

The Pros of Spanish Citizenship

You shouldn’t get Spanish citizenship just because you can.

Even if you have a grandparent that clearly connects you to the country and you would love to spend your winters in the Costa del Sol, there are both pros and cons to any citizenship that you assume.

Needless to say, the best part of having Spanish citizenship is that you would be getting a European Union passport.

Spain hasn’t toyed with the idea of ever exiting the European Union like Britain, so it’s safe to assume you will have access to the entire region.

You would be able to freely travel, work, study and – most importantly – live in any of the countries in the European Union.

It’s a major pro.

Say you get tired of Spain and want to travel or move to Germany for a year. You would be able to do that with your Spanish passport, no questions asked.

The Cons of Spanish Citizenship

While Spain allows dual citizenship and permits you to retain your original nationality, you will be asked to prove proficiency in the Spanish language by passing a recognised exam. 

Another slight negative about Spanish citizenship is that you stand to lose it if you take up another citizenship or if you reside abroad for three years.

To avoid losing your newfound nationality by accident, you will need to declare your intention to keep your Spanish nationality at the Civil Registry.

Say you get your Spanish citizenship by ancestry and then move to Georgia for three-plus years, you could theoretically lose your Spanish passport.

And then, of course, there are the high taxes you’ll face if you decide to spend a lot of time each year in Spain.

As nuanced as Spanish citizenship is, you must weigh up its pros and cons before deciding if you should take the plunge.

How to Obtain Spanish Citizenship by Descent: FAQs

Is Spanish Citizenship by Descent Worth Your While?

Spain is a country that’s highly desirable among expats, tourists and digital nomads.  

There are some real lifestyle benefits when it comes to residing in Spain. No wonder, then, that some people want to take it one step further and obtain Spanish citizenship.

There are many ways to do so: you can invest in the country to get residence and start the naturalisation timeline, you can marry a Spanish national, or – by far the cheapest and arguably the simplest method – you can get Spanish citizenship by descent if you have ancestry in the country.

Before you go around digging to determine whether you have a Garcia or a Martinez in your family tree, you’ll have to consider whether it’s actually worth your while.

If you have always wanted European citizenship, the answer may be yes. You could roam freely all across the continent and live and work anywhere you please.

However, Spanish citizenship could also put a spoke in your wheel if you don’t plan it right. Spanish tax rates, both personal and corporate, are some of the highest in the world, although there are ways to circumvent them legally.

All things considered, Spanish citizenship by descent offers an extremely cheap, if drawn out, way to a European passport.

Why not let us navigate the bureaucracy and help you get a Spanish passport quickly and with ease?

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You’ll keep more of your own money, create new wealth faster and be protected from whatever happens in just three steps. Discover how we do things here.