Grenada citizenship by marriage is granted through a registration process under Section 5(3) of the Citizenship Act: a foreign national married to a Grenadian citizen is entitled to be registered as a citizen after applying in the prescribed manner and, in most cases, taking an oath of allegiance.1Grenada Parliament. Citizenship Act Registration is a right the government must grant when the statutory conditions are met, which sets it apart from naturalization, where the Minister has discretion.
Who Qualifies
You must be legally married to a Grenadian citizen. Your spouse’s citizenship can come from birth, descent, or a prior registration, and they must still hold it when you file. The marriage itself has to be valid under Grenadian law, meaning it must comply with the Marriage Act; a ceremony that falls outside the Act’s requirements has no legal effect in Grenada.2Government of Grenada. Grenada Code Chapter 184 – Marriage Act
Section 98 of the Constitution mirrors the statutory right and uses gender-neutral language, covering both husbands and wives. It also extends the right to people who were married to a Grenadian citizen during the marriage, even if the marriage has since ended.3Global Citizenship Observatory. The Attorney General of Grenada v Muhammed Ehsan
The Section 5(3) route does not impose a good character test or an English language requirement. Those conditions belong to a different pathway (Section 5(1), for Commonwealth citizens).1Grenada Parliament. Citizenship Act The statute also allows registration “whether or not that person is of full age and capacity,” so the age and capacity thresholds that apply to other registration routes do not apply here.
One important boundary: Grenada does not legally recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions. Because this pathway requires a marriage valid under Grenadian law, it is not available to same-sex couples, regardless of where the marriage was celebrated.
If Your Spouse Got Citizenship Through Investment
This is the exclusion most applicants don’t see coming. If your Grenadian spouse obtained citizenship through the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program, the marriage route is closed to you. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2016 blocks spouses of CBI citizens from registering under either Section 5 of the Citizenship Act or Section 98 of the Constitution.4Parliament of Grenada. Grenada Code – Citizenship (Amendment) Act 4 of 2016 To become a citizen in that situation, you would need to qualify under a different provision, such as residency-based naturalization or your own CBI application.
Documents You Will Need
The application form is the one prescribed by Schedule 2, Regulation 4 of the Citizenship Act, designated for persons married to a Grenadian citizen. It has to be signed before a Justice of the Peace or Notary Public, and you also need four passport-sized photographs certified by the same official.5Grenada Consulate Miami. Instruction Sheet – Application Married to a Grenadian
Alongside the form, gather:
- Your marriage certificate.
- Birth certificates for both you and your spouse.
- A police clearance certificate from your home country or country of recent residence.
Foreign-language documents need a certified English translation. Documents from countries in the Hague Apostille Convention will likely need an apostille to be accepted. Translation of legal documents generally runs $25 to $35 per page; apostille fees vary by issuing jurisdiction.
Where to File
Applications are processed by the Department of Home Affairs within the Office of the Prime Minister in Grenada.6Embassy of Grenada. Applying for Citizenship The Embassy in Washington, D.C. does not handle these applications; the package goes directly to the department in St. George’s. A registration fee is due at submission, and the current amount should be confirmed with the Office of the Prime Minister before you file.
The government runs a background check before approving the application. No official timeline is published, so expect several months. Correspondence goes to the mailing address on your form, and delays typically come from slow responses to requests for additional documents.
The Oath and Your Certificate
If you are a foreign national, meaning you are not a Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, you must take an oath of allegiance to Grenada before your registration takes effect. British protected persons and citizens of the Republic of Ireland also take the oath.1Grenada Parliament. Citizenship Act After you are sworn in, the government issues a Certificate of Registration. That certificate is the legal proof of your citizenship and is what you will use to apply for a Grenadian passport.
Dual Citizenship
Grenada allows dual citizenship, so you don’t have to renounce your original nationality to be registered here. Whether your home country requires you to give up your prior citizenship is a separate question you should check on that side. If you later need to give up your Grenadian citizenship, you can do so by filing a declaration of renunciation with the Minister.
What Can Undo Your Citizenship
Divorce after registration does not, on its own, cost you your citizenship. Section 9 of the Citizenship Act, which lists the grounds for deprivation, does not include divorce. Once the certificate has been issued, the marriage has done its legal work.
Fraud is treated very differently. The Minister may revoke citizenship by registration if satisfied that it was obtained through fraud, false representation, or concealment of a material fact. Before that order is made, the government must notify you in writing and give you the right to request a formal inquiry before an independent committee.1Grenada Parliament. Citizenship Act The Minister can also revoke on national security grounds, and in that case the inquiry protections do not apply. A marriage entered into solely to obtain citizenship falls within the fraud provision, and citizenship obtained that way remains vulnerable to revocation at any point later.