Spain citizenship through a grandparent
A grandparent who was originally Spanish opens Article 22.2 — one year of legal residency in Spain, then naturalisation — but Article 20's no-residency declaration route does not reach a grandparent at all, only a parent.
Civil Code Article 22.2 reaches a parent or grandparent who was originally Spanish, opening naturalisation after one year of legal residency in Spain.
Article 20 (the no-residency option) is limited to a Spanish-born parent by its own text and does not extend to a grandparent — that route is simply closed at this depth.
If you already filed a Ley de Memoria Democrática (grandchildren) application before it closed on 22 October 2025, that is a separate, more advanced situation with its own rules.
Confirm your grandparent was Spanish "by origin," not by later naturalisation — Article 22.2 requires this.
Plan for one year of actual legal residency in Spain under a qualifying permit before you can file — a relocation commitment, not a paperwork-only process.
If a Memoria Democrática case is already pending from before the deadline, that continues under its own rules rather than Article 22.2.
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