Spanish Civil Code · Updated for 2026
The Democratic Memory Law (Ley de Nietos) closed its application window on October 22, 2025. We explain honestly which routes remain available in 2026 under the Spanish Civil Code: children of Spaniards, grandchildren in specific cases, and the legal residency route — the most used today by Ibero-American citizens.
Important update
Law 20/2022 on Democratic Memory (popularly the "Grandchildren Law") allowed, between 2022 and 2025, descendants of Spaniards who lost their nationality due to exile, political persecution or marriage to a foreigner (between 07/18/1936 and 12/28/1978) to opt for Spanish nationality.
The deadline to request an appointment and submit an application under this route has definitively closed. Since October 23, 2025, Spanish consulates and civil registries no longer accept new applications under this route.
If you submitted your application or had an appointment assigned before October 22, 2025, your file continues to be processed during 2026. The consulate may contact you for additional information or documentation.
As of this writing (2026), the Spanish Government has not announced a successor program to the Democratic Memory Law. Spanish nationality continues to be governed by the permanent routes of the Civil Code.
Spanish Civil Code
Beyond the temporary memory laws, the Spanish Civil Code maintains permanent paths to nationality. We help you identify which one applies to your case.
If you have a Spanish father or mother (by birth or naturalized), Spanish nationality by filiation generally does not require residency in Spain and is the most direct route.
Eligibility for grandchildren is limited: it usually requires your parent (the child of the original Spaniard) to have first acquired or opted for Spanish nationality, or completing 1 year of legal residency in Spain before applying.
The Civil Code (Art. 22) provides for a reduced period of 2 years of continuous legal residency in Spain to naturalize, applicable to nationals of Ibero-American countries (including Paraguay), Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal and Sephardic Jews.
Great-grandchildren of Spaniards CANNOT opt for nationality by direct descent under the current regime. The extraordinary route that in some cases allowed this (Democratic Memory Law) has already closed its deadline.
Marriage to a Spanish citizen reduces the required legal residency period to 1 year, instead of 2 years (Ibero-America) or 10 years (general regime).
Not sure if you qualify?
💬 We will assess your case for freeThe main route in 2026
For most Paraguayans and Ibero-American citizens in 2026, the most solid route to Spanish nationality is legally residing in Spain for the reduced period set out in the Civil Code.
Residency must be legal and continuous, immediately preceding the application. Good civic conduct and a degree of integration into Spanish society must also be demonstrated (CCSE and DELE A2 exams, with some exceptions). Source: Spanish Civil Code, Art. 22.
How we work
We review your link to Spain: parents, grandparents and each one's specific situation.
We determine whether you qualify by direct filiation, by your grandparents' situation, or whether the residency route is the right one.
We gather birth/marriage certificates, apostilled and translated, and verify records with the Spanish Civil Registry.
We file your application before the Civil Registry or the relevant office, depending on the identified route.
We follow up on your file until resolution and registration with the Civil Registry.
Frequently Asked Questions