The routes left
- Spanish from birthA Spanish father or motherUnder the Civil Code, anyone born to a Spanish parent is Spanish by origin, wherever they’re born. You register your birth with the Spanish consulate’s civil register.
- By optionA parent who was originally Spanish and born in SpainEven if your parent had stopped being Spanish by the time you were born, you can opt for Spanish nationality. The Justice Ministry sets no age limit for this route.
- By option, before 20A parent who became Spanish while you were under 18You can opt for Spanish nationality until you turn 20, or within 2 years of becoming legally independent, if that came later under your own country’s law.
- After 1 year in SpainA grandparent who was originally SpanishGrandchildren born abroad can apply for nationality after just 1 year living legally in Spain, instead of the usual 10. Spanish language and culture tests apply.
- ClosedThe Democratic Memory Law (“grandchildren’s law”)No new applications since October 23, 2025. People who requested an appointment by October 22, 2025 are still being processed.
A rule that catches people out
If you’re Spanish because your parent was, you and that parent were both born abroad, you live abroad, and you also hold the citizenship of the country you live in, you lose Spanish nationality unless you declare that you want to keep it within 3 years of turning 18. Do this at the consulate’s civil register.
What a Spanish passport gives you
The right to live, work, study and retire across all 27 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. See what an EU passport lets you do.
Living there
A Spanish passport lets you live and work in any EU country, and in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Not eligible? The long way round
If descent doesn’t work for you, you can still become a citizen by living in Spain and applying to naturalize. It takes longer, but it’s open to anyone who meets the conditions.
A shortcut for people with Spanish parents or grandparents
If you were born abroad and a parent or grandparent was originally Spanish, you can apply after just 1 year’s legal residence in Spain.
- Time living there first
- 10 years’ legal residence, or 2 years for nationals of Latin American countries, the Philippines, Portugal, Andorra and Equatorial Guinea.
- Language and tests
- Spanish at A2 level (the DELE exam) and the CCSE test on Spain’s constitution and culture.
- Keep your current passport?
- Usually no: you have to give up your other nationality, unless you’re from one of the 2-year countries, you’re French (under the Spain–France convention), or you’re a Sephardic Jew of Spanish origin.
- Main ways to get residence
- The non-lucrative visa for people with a passive income, the digital nomad visa, work permits and study.
Already have, or able to get, a passport from an EU country through another family line? Then you can live and work in Spain without a visa. See what an EU passport lets you do.
General information, not immigration advice. Residence rules change often, so check the official source before you plan a move. Sources: Wikipedia: Spanish nationality law (secondary source); BOE: Spain–France nationality convention, in force 1 April 2022.