Portugal plans to make it easier for immigrants to get citizenship. According to the details, the government could make access more flexible for immigrants who live in Portugal and who wait years for documentation. The enactment of the legislation, which should occur soon, as DN found, depended on an opinion from the Constitutional Court (TC), at the request of the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The approved legislation also provides for changes in the acquisition of nationality for all citizens through the length of their stay in Portugal. This involves counting the period of residence in the country to apply for citizenship, which is five years. The change provides for the time the immigrant waits for the Residence Permit (AR) to be taken into account, which can be up to three years.
The new text states that “to count legal residence periods provided for in this law, the time elapsed since the moment the temporary residence permit was requested is also considered, as long as it is granted ”.
In practice, this means that the time will be counted from the date of acceptance of the Expression of Interest (IM), a method used by thousands of foreigners in Portugal to obtain a residence permit. At the time the MI request is approved, the foreign citizen has already submitted to the Government the documentation required by law, such as registration with Social Security, opening an activity or employment contract, and Taxpayer Number. The next procedure is to carry out a face-to-face interview and pay a fee, followed by receiving the title.
The change was a long-standing request from immigrants in Portugal. Juliet Cristino, an independent representative of foreigners in the country, released an open letter on the topic in 2021. In 2023, she obtained enough signatures on a public petition for the issue to be discussed by Parliament. In a hearing held last October, the Brazilian presented to deputies the reasons for the change in the law, such as the fact that the process is time-consuming, the Government had already approved the request after evaluating the required documentation and the immigrant was already contributing For the country.
The next step is the promulgation of the law and publication in the Official Gazette, in addition to ordinances that regulate the details of the changes. Therefore, there is still no date for them to be put into practice.
At issue was the article that provides for a transitional regime for the nationality requests of Sephardic Jews currently underway. The head of state decided to request a preventive inspection to ensure that possible hostages in Gaza are not harmed by the new rule. The plenary found no unconstitutionality in the text and argued that “it does not violate the legitimate expectations of nationality applicants, nor does it directly jeopardize the lives of its recipients or the dignity of the human person”. The transition regime provides that anyone who has applied for nationality since September 1, 2022, can prove their connection to Portugal by “carrying out regular trips to Portugal throughout the applicant’s life that attest to an effective and lasting connection to Portugal”, or if you have held a residence permit for more than a year.
This justification can also be carried out by the ownership “transmitted mortis causa, of real rights over properties located in Portugal, of other personal rights of enjoyment, or of shareholdings in commercial companies or cooperatives based in Portugal” and also by surname, language, descent direct or collateral.
When it comes into force, the legislation will have an additional requirement for new applications for Portuguese citizenship for Sephardic Jews. In addition to the connection with the country, which is already stated in the law, applicants will also have to have “legally resided in Portuguese territory for at least three years, consecutive or interpolated”.