Portugal faces a backlog of approximately 500,000 pending nationality applications.
In a significant shift, Portugal is strengthening its citizenship laws in response to a surge in naturalization applications from foreign residents. This increase, which has nearly quadrupled in the last seven years, has been attributed to multiple factors, including a weakening of the connection to the national community and Portugal's attractive EU membership benefits.
Since 2015, there has been a fivefold rise in nationality applications from foreigners residing in Portugal. In 2022, 362,000 nationality applications were received, compared to 194,000 in 2015, a stark contrast to earlier trends where most applications came from children of Portuguese parents born abroad.
The government has observed that the connection required between applicants and the Portuguese national community has weakened over the years, encouraging more applications from non-Portuguese nationals. Portugal's EU membership and the benefits of citizenship have made it a sought-after destination for many immigrants seeking stability and mobility within Europe, contributing to the surge.
To address these concerns, the government is reinforcing citizenship requirements and aiming to ensure that citizenship reflects genuine ties rather than transactional or opportunistic motives. As a result, Portugal now faces a backlog of 512,000 pending nationality applications, putting significant administrative pressure on the nationality granting process.
To tighten the citizenship process, the government has implemented various changes. Residency requirements have been doubled, with most foreigners now required to have resided legally in Portugal for ten years before applying for citizenship, and nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries (CPLP) such as Brazil and Angola needing seven years. The new residency period starts from the date the legal residence permit is issued, not from when the application is submitted.
Applicants must now also demonstrate proficiency in Portuguese at an A2 level, knowledge of Portuguese culture, rights, and duties via a civic test, and no serious criminal record. Additionally, they must support Portugal's democratic principles and no longer benefit from automatic citizenship for children born in Portugal unless parents have legally resided for at least three years and formally apply for it.
The nationality route based on Sephardic Jewish ancestry is also ending, and naturalized Portuguese nationals who commit serious crimes may lose citizenship under the new rules. These changes aim to ensure that Portuguese nationality is not made easier or commercialized and presupposes a solid connection with the political community.
The minister, presenting the Government's bill on the nationality law in parliament, emphasised that being a citizen is a title of belonging to the Portuguese people, implying a range of rights and duties, including the right to vote and be elected, and to participate in the self-government of the country. The minister further stated that access to and ownership of Portuguese citizenship cannot be made easier or commercialized.
The aim of the nationality law is to correct the recent mistakes of the left, which has made it easier to access Portuguese nationality. Despite the surge in nationality applications, only 15% of the pending applications are from Portuguese nationals, all of whom were born abroad. The minister noted that the increase in nationality applications would be much greater if the nationality rules were not tightened, as the number of resident foreigners has quadrupled in the last seven years, increasing by one million.
This article provides an overview of the significant increase in naturalization applications in Portugal, the reasons behind this increase, the consequences of the surge, and the recent trends and legal changes implemented by the government to address these issues.
- In light of the escalating number of naturalization applications from foreign residents, Portugal is revising its citizenship policies and legislation to ensure that citizenship reflects genuine ties, rather than transactional or opportunistic motives.
- As part of the efforts to tighten the citizenship process, Portugal has increased residency requirements: foreigners must now reside for ten years (or seven years for citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries) before applying for citizenship, and demonstrate proficiency in Portuguese, understanding of Portuguese culture, and a clean criminal record.
- The new measures aim to prevent Portuguese nationality from being made easier or commercialized, reinforcing the idea that it is a title of belonging to the Portuguese people, implying a range of rights and duties, including the right to vote, stand for election, and participate in self-government.
