- Ways to apply
- Venezuelan by birth, by declaration (Art. 32)
- Dual citizenship
- Kept, however you apply
Each answer assumes none of your ancestors became a citizen of another country before their child was born. Below is what changes each answer.
On this page›
- 01Who qualifies
- 02Dates that matter
- 03Through your mother
- 04Keeping your citizenship
- 05Ways to apply
- 06The documents
- 07What it takes
- 08Where the records live
- 09Law changes
- 10Other options
- 11Sources
Who qualifies, generation by generation
LIKELY
Can you claim Venezuelan citizenship through a parent?
Venezuelan by birth, by declaration (Art. 32)
A child of a Venezuelan-by-birth parent is Venezuelan by declaring the intent at a Venezuelan mission, or by living in Venezuela; reaching a mission that is actually processing this may take patience while consular services are rebuilt after the 2019–2026 rupture.
What would settle itWhether a Venezuelan mission near you is currently accepting nationality declarations, given the consulate closures since 2019.
UNLIKELY
Can you claim Venezuelan citizenship through a grandparent?
Venezuelan by birth, by declaration (Art. 32)
Venezuela’s constitutional option reaches a child of a Venezuelan-by-birth parent, not a grandchild whose own parent never declared or established residence; that parent’s status needs resolving first.
What would settle itWhether your parent can first complete the residence or declaration step — if so, you would then qualify as their child.
UNLIKELY
Can you claim Venezuelan citizenship through a great-grandparent?
Venezuelan by birth, by declaration (Art. 32)
Venezuela’s constitutional option reaches a child of a Venezuelan-by-birth parent, not a grandchild whose own parent never declared or established residence; that parent’s status needs resolving first.
What would settle itWhether your parent can first complete the residence or declaration step — if so, you would then qualify as their child.
The dates that matter
No date named in Venezuela’s rule decides who qualifies. The answers above turn on the family’s facts, not on when anyone was born or left.
Claiming through your mother or grandmother
Venezuela’s rule gives the same answer whether the line runs through a mother or a father. Where its reasons speak of mothers or fathers, they say:
Dual citizenship with your home country
You keep your citizenship.
On every open route, the rule lets a citizen of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina or South Africa keep that citizenship.
Every way to apply, and the law behind it
The law
What would settle an unsure case
- Whether a Venezuelan mission near you is currently accepting nationality declarations, given the consulate closures since 2019.
- Whether your parent can first complete the residence or declaration step — if so, you would then qualify as their child.
The documents, as the rule lists them
Venezuelan by birth, by declaration (Art. 32)
Through a parent
- Your parent’s Venezuelan birth certificate
- Your foreign birth certificate
- A declaration of intent filed at a Venezuelan diplomatic mission
Most countries also want proof that your ancestor didn’t become a citizen somewhere else before their child was born: the naturalization record with its date, or a letter saying there isn’t one.
What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides
Venezuelan by birth, by declaration (Art. 32)
- Time
- A few months once a Venezuelan mission is reachable; Venezuela’s U.S. consulates were closed from 2019 (fully from January 2023) and were still rebuilding services after the 2026 restoration of relations, so the wait depends on which mission, if any, is open.
- Cost
- About $200–500: certified U.S. records, translation into Spanish, legalisation, and mission fees.
- The hard part
- Reaching a Venezuelan mission that is currently taking appointments for nationality declarations and consular birth registration, given the closures since 2019.
- Who decides
- A Venezuelan diplomatic mission for your address.
- The first record
- Your parent’s Venezuelan birth certificate, from SAIME (Servicio Administrativo de Identificación, Migración y Extranjería) and the consular civil registry. File the consular birth registration, or the Art. 32 declaration of intent, at a Venezuelan diplomatic mission for your address, which forwards it to SAIME’s civil registry. saime.gob.ve ↗
How it’s filed
- Where
- A Venezuelan consulate for the place of birth, or a Registro Civil office in Venezuela, in the municipality of the Venezuelan parent’s last residence (Nationality Law Art. 10). The U.S. consulates have not reopened to the public, so a U.S.-born applicant files in Venezuela. office list ↗
- How
- In person; you appear in person
- Fee
- No fee
- Decision
- 1–12 months
What goes in the file (5)›
- Your foreign birth certificate, apostilled and translated into Spanish
- A copy of your Venezuelan parent’s birth certificate, or the details of its entry
- A copy of your Venezuelan parent’s passport or cédula
- Copies of two witnesses’ ID, and the witnesses in person at a Registro Civil
- The declaration of will to take Venezuelan nationality, signed at the mission or Registro Civil
What goes wrong (3)›
- Free: the declaration and the registration carry no fee at missions or at the Registro Civil.
- A child of a Venezuelan by birth may declare at any age. A child of a naturalized Venezuelan must have settled in Venezuela before 18 and declare before 25, with proof of residence (Constitution Art. 32(4)).
- Consulates register births in their own jurisdiction, and the Paris consulate sends applicants over 18 to a Registro Civil in Venezuela for late registration (registro extemporáneo).
source ↗
Fees are each office’s published fee, converted to U.S. dollars.
Where each record lives, and how to ask for it
birth
SAIME (Servicio Administrativo de Identificación, Migración y Extranjería) and the national civil registry
The declaration and the birth entry are made at a Venezuelan consulate for the place of birth or at a Registro Civil office in Venezuela; the record then sits in the national civil registry.
- Takes
- 1–12 months
Good to know (1)›
- A Registro Civil office in Venezuela makes the entry at the appointment, with two witnesses present. A consular entry travels to Venezuela by diplomatic pouch, which the Paris consulate puts at a year or more.
source ↗
Translations
- Into
- Spanish
- Who may translate
- Any certified translator
- About
- $20–$50 a page
The foreign birth certificate must be apostilled and translated into Spanish. Missions ask for a certified translation and several apostilled originals (Paris: four long-form certificates; multilingual extracts are refused).
source ↗
The passport
- Where
- A Venezuelan consulate, by appointment after filing the request in SAIME’s online system, with the Venezuelan cédula and a copy of the Venezuelan birth record.
- Fee
- About $336
- Time
- 2–6 months
- USD 336: SAIME’s adult passport fee of USD 216, charged in bolívares at the central bank rate, plus a USD 120 consular fee paid in cash at the mission. Passports issued abroad reach the consulate by diplomatic pouch.
source ↗
Recent and pending changes
We know of no pending bill or recent court ruling for Venezuela.
We re-read the official pages behind this guide every day. When one changes, a person checks the rule before we update anything here.
If descent doesn’t reach you
2 residence programs lead to Venezuela without an ancestor, each with its own law and road to citizenship.