Loading…
In depth
A conservatória is a Portuguese registry office. The Conservatória dos Registos Centrais (Central Registry Office) in Lisbon processes Portuguese citizenship applications and maintains the central registry of births, marriages, and deaths for Portuguese citizens abroad.
For CBD cases, the Conservatória dos Registos Centrais is the primary filing authority for citizenship by descent applications, alongside the Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (IRN), which oversees the Portuguese registry system.
Portuguese consulates abroad also process certain citizenship applications and can issue certified copies of records from any conservatória in Portugal.
Related terms
The Registo Civil is the Portuguese civil registry that maintains records of births, marriages, and deaths in Portugal and its islands (Azores, Madeira).
Sephardic citizenship is the Portuguese (and formerly Spanish) path to citizenship for descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled during the Inquisition.
The Ley de Memoria Democrática (Democratic Memory Law, 2022) is the Spanish law that opened citizenship to descendants of Civil War and Franco-era exiles.
The Ley de Memoria Histórica (Historical Memory Law, 2007) was the predecessor Spanish law granting citizenship to descendants of Civil War exiles, replaced by the 2022 Democratic Memory Law.
The Registro Civil is the civil registry in Spain and Latin American countries that maintains records of births, marriages, and deaths.
The Ministerio de Justicia (Ministry of Justice) is the Spanish government ministry that processes citizenship applications under the Memory Law.