Amendments to the Nationality Law Entered into force on the 15th of April
On April 15th the latest changes to the Portuguese Nationality Regulation came into force (Decree-Law No. 26/2022). Updating the rules on granting nationality to descendants of Sephardic Jews only comes into force on 1 September.
From the date of entry into force of the new law, Portuguese nationality will be granted to anyone who:
- Is born in Portugal to foreign parents, who are not in the service of the State, and who, at the time of birth, have been residing in Portugal for at least one year.
- Have at least one original Portuguese grandfather or grandmother. Must declare that he/she wants to be Portuguese and has effective ties with the Portuguese community.
- Under 18 years of age and has been taken in by a public, cooperative, social or private institution with a cooperation agreement with the State.
- Be a foreigner, but who has been in Portuguese territory for at least 5 years, children born in Portugal.
- Minor, child of foreigners and born in Portugal, at the date of application, one of the parents must reside in Portugal for at least 5 years or one of the parents must have legal residence in Portugal, or if the minor has attended at least one school year in Portugal.
- Born in the former colonies and who, on 25th April 1974, resided in Portugal for less than 5 years, provided that, after losing Portuguese nationality, they have not been in the service of the respective State and have stayed and remain in Portugal, regardless of their title.
- Fulfills proven requirements of their connection to Portugal, at the time of the application, for the purpose of naturalization of descendants of Sephardic Jews.
Along with the update of the law, the following improvements will be introduced to speed up the process of application for Portuguese nationality:
- Those who apply for Portuguese nationality, that is, lawyers and solicitors who represent the holder of the application, have access to consult their application online.
- In some situations, the presentation of translated documents will no longer be required.
- Whenever possible, communication between the Central Registry Office and other services or entities will be made by digital means.