What is citizenship by virtue of origin, provided for in the Democratic Memory Act?
It is a redress measure for Spanish nationals who suffered exile, enabling their descendants to recover Spanish citizenship. The right is recognized in Act 20/2022 of 19 October, on Democratic Memory
. The Spanish Congress passed the Act on 14 July 2022 and the Senate later the same year on 5 October.
The effect of exercising the right is the acquisition of Spanish citizenship by virtue of origin and thus also the acquisition of the fundamental rights and duties recognized for all Spanish citizens in the Spanish Constitution of 1978. This differs from the regularization of migrants, which will grant migrants living in Spain the right to live and work in Spain, but not Spanish citizenship – and therefore neither certain rights such as the right to vote.
The context of the Democratic Memory Act
A number of countries such as Austria, Estonia, Germany, Latvia and Lithuania have used restored or expanded access to nationality in response to situations caused by historical circumstances that forced thousands of citizens to leave their countries. In Spain, there is also the precedent of Act 12/2015, which provides for Spanish nationality for descendants of the Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1492, more than 500 years ago.
Who can apply for Spanish citizenship under the Democratic Memory Act?
Additional Provision Eight of the Act provides as follows:
- Persons born outside Spain whose father, mother, grandfather or grandmother were originally Spanish, but suffered exile because of their politics, ideology, beliefs or sexual orientation or identity and lost or renounced their Spanish citizenship, may apply for Spanish citizenship per Article 20 of the Civil Code.
- The following persons may also obtain Spanish citizenship:
- Children born abroad to Spanish women who lost their nationality owing to marriage to a foreign citizen prior to the entry into force of the 1978 Constitution.
- Adult children of Spanish nationals whose citizenship by virtue of origin was granted in exercise of the right of option, pursuant to the Democratic Memory Act or to Additional Provision Seven of Act 52/2007 of 26 December.
How to apply for nationality: a process with guarantees
Applicants for Spanish citizenship under the Democratic Memory Act must assemble the necessary documentation to prove that they meet the requirements. The rigorous and documented process offers guarantees and enables consulates to carefully crosscheck applications. The documents include:
- Proof of kinship.
- Birth certificates of the applicants, parents or grandparents.
- Birth certificate proving that the parents or grandparents were Spanish nationals.
- Documents proving the condition of exile, including proof that forebears suffered repression or persecution for any of the reasons set out in the Act.
The assigned civil servant of the consular post is responsible for approving application files.
The initial deadline to apply for citizenship was two years from the entry into force of the Act, which could be extended by an additional year. That deadline expired in October 2025.
Applications for citizenship by virtue of the Democratic Memory Act through Spain's consular posts
By 31 May 2026, Spain's consular network:
- Had received 1,225,188 in-person applications at consulates.
- Had approved 571,761 files at consulates.
- Had made 333,696 registry entries at consulates.
A stronger consular network to respond effectively, with full guarantees
To process all of the files, in 2025 the administration approved an increase in the number of public employees abroad, hiring an additional 657 workers, 43% more than in the prior year.
As stated in the Consular Activity Report for 2025 (Spanish only), over the past four years, the workforce abroad has been expanded by a total of 2,300 employees, and the diplomatic service teams at the Consulates-General in Buenos Aires, Mexico City and Havana have all been strengthened.