Portugal Tightens Citizenship Rules After Parliamentary Approval

Overview

• Lawmakers voted 157–64 to overhaul the Nationality Law, raising the residency requirement to 7 years for EU and CPLP nationals, including Brazilians, and to 10 years for other foreigners.
• The new clock starts on the date a residence permit is issued, excluding years applicants spent waiting for authorization, reversing a 2024 provision that credited that time.
• The revision closes the special pathway for descendants of Sephardic Jews and adds tougher integration and subsistence criteria, with stricter screens for naturalization routes such as marriage.
• The text introduces the possibility of judges imposing loss of nationality for naturalized citizens convicted of serious crimes, though reports differ on the precise sentencing thresholds.
• Officials cite more than 520,000 citizenship applications pending, and experts say bureaucratic delays could stretch the real wait beyond the new minima, particularly for Portugal’s large Brazilian community.