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Portuguese nationality can be acquired in two different ways:
By original assignment;
By derived assignment.
In the first case, the Portuguese nationality is attributed at the time of the birth of the individual, since the latter has a strong connection to the Portuguese State. Link is that, pursuant to Article 1, paragraph 1 of the Nationality Law, approved by Law no. 37/81, of October 3, in the most recent version with the amendments Organic Law No. 9/2015, of July 29, both can be sanguine, because their ancestors are Portuguese, and territorial, because the individual was born in Portuguese territory.
Accordingly, under the terms of the abovementioned article, “they are Portuguese of origin:
a) The children of a Portuguese mother or a Portuguese father born in Portuguese territory;
b) The offspring of a Portuguese mother or a Portuguese father born abroad if the Portuguese parent is there in the service of the Portuguese State;
c) The children of a Portuguese mother or a Portuguese father born abroad if they are registered in the Portuguese civil registry or if they declare that they wish to be Portuguese;
d) Individuals born abroad with at least one ascendant of Portuguese nationality of the second degree in the straight line who did not lose that nationality, if they declare that they want to be Portuguese, have ties of effective connection to the national community and, verified such requirements, enter the birth in the Portuguese civil registry;
e) Individuals born in Portuguese territory, children of foreigners, if at least one of the parents is also born here and resides here, regardless of title, at the time of birth;
f) Individuals born in Portuguese territory, children of foreigners who are not in the service of their State, declare themselves to be Portuguese and provided that at the time of birth one of the parents has been legally resident for at least five years;
g) Individuals born in Portuguese territory who have no other nationality.
In the second case, under the Nationality Law, derived nationality is granted to anyone who is in one of the following circumstances:
Being a minor, or incapable, of a father or mother who acquires Portuguese nationality (Article 2 of the Nationality Law)
In case of marriage or de facto union, judicially recognized, with a Portuguese national (Article 3 of the Nationality Law)
Being a foreign minor fully adopted by a Portuguese citizen (Article 5 of the Nationality Law)
To fulfill the requirements for naturalization (Article 6 of the Nationalization Law):
Foreigners who are older or emancipated under Portuguese law, who have been legally resident in Portugal for at least six years;
Minors, under Portuguese law, born in Portuguese territory, children of foreigners in which at the time of the request, one of the parents has been legally resident for at least five years;
Minors, under Portuguese law, born in Portuguese territory, who have completed the first cycle of basic education.
Larger individuals who have had Portuguese nationality and who, having lost it, have never acquired another nationality;
Individuals born abroad with at least one second-degree ascendant of the straight line of Portuguese nationality (grandchildren of a Portuguese citizen) and who have not lost this nationality;
Individuals born in Portuguese territory, the children of foreigners, who have usually stayed here in the 10 years immediately prior to the request;
Individuals who are not stateless, have Portuguese nationality, to those who have been descended from Portuguese, to members of communities of Portuguese descent and to foreigners who have provided or are called to provide relevant services to the Portuguese State or to the national community ;
Descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews, through the demonstration of the tradition of belonging to a Sephardic community of Portuguese origin, based on proven objective requirements of connection to Portugal, namely nicknames, family language, direct or collateral descent.
Although all the above requirements for naturalization are required for the process to run expeditiously, all but the latter can be waived under certain circumstances.
Pursuant to article 6, paragraph 6 of the Nationality Law, it is possible to waive the requirement of permanence in Portugal, if the individual belongs to a community of Portuguese ancestry.
However, in this case the granting of nationality is available to the Government, and the Government is not obliged to grant it, because, while in Article 6, paragraph 1 of the Nationality Law, the text of the rule states that “The Government nationality “in Article 6, paragraph 6 of the same law, the text of the rule states that” The Government can grant naturalization. ”
However, as regards the procedure for naturalization, Article 7 of the Nationality Law provides that “naturalization shall be granted, at the request of the person concerned, by decision of the Ministry of Justice”, which, pursuant to Article 18 1 of the Portuguese Nationality Regulation, approved by Decree-Law 237-A / 2006 of December 14, in the most recent version of Decree-Law no. 71/2017 of June 21) will have to be presented at the Civil Registry or the Portuguese Consular Services.
Article 18 Naturalization
1 – Anyone who wishes to acquire Portuguese nationality by naturalization may submit the respective application, addressed to the Minister of Justice, in the following services:
a) Extensions of the Central Registry Office to other public legal entities, in terms to be established by protocol to be signed between these entities and the Directorate-General for Registries and Notaries;
b) Civil registry offices;
c) Portuguese consular services.
2 – The application may also be sent by mail to the Central Registry Office, or electronically, under conditions that may be fixed by an order of the Minister of Justice.
3 – The application for naturalization is carried out by the interested party, by himself or by a sufficient attorney, being able, or by his legal representatives, being incapable.
4 – The application shall be written in Portuguese and, in addition to the basis of the request and other circumstances that the interested party considers relevant, shall contain the following elements:
(a) the full name, date of birth, state, place of birth, nationality, affiliation, occupation and current residence, as well as the country of residence;
b) The full name and residence of the legal representatives, if the interested party is incapable, or of the prosecutor;
c) The indication of the number, date and issuer of the title or residence permit, passport or equivalent identification document of the person concerned, as well as of the legal representative or the prosecutor, if any;
d) The signature of the applicant, recognized in person, unless it is done in the presence of an employee of one of the services or service station with competence to receive the application.
5 – When the prosecutor is an attorney or solicitor, the number of the respective professional card is sufficient to confirm the signature.
As stated in the diploma, this application must contain the full name of the person concerned, his / her date of birth, state, place of birth, nationality, affiliation, profession, current residence and country of residence. It must also contain the number, date and issuer of the residence permit.
The application must be signed, with face-to-face recognition, unless it is performed in the presence of a competent service official to receive the application.
In addition to the application, the following documents must be submitted:
Certificate of Birth Registration;
Certificates of criminal record issued by the competent Portuguese services, of the country of origin and nationality, and also of the countries where they have resided.
In addition to these documents, proof of residency in Portugal and knowledge of the Portuguese language are also required, which in the present case can be made, respectively, by submitting an updated residence permit and a certificate of qualification issued by a (Article 25 of the Portuguese Nationality Regulation).
After receipt of the application, the Central Registry Office has 30 days to analyze the process and if it does not contain all the mandatory elements listed above or is not accompanied by all the necessary documents and which substantiate the application for naturalization, the application is dismissed at the outset.
In this case, the interested party shall have 20 days to speak, after which a reasoned decision shall be delivered by the Registrar or official of the registers.
On the other hand, if there has been no preliminary dismissal of the application, an opinion is issued within 45 days after receiving the information requested from the Judicial Police and the Aliens and Border Service, which may take up to 90 days. If it is favorable to the interests of the applicant, it shall be immediately submitted to the Ministry of Justice for review and decision (Article 27 of the Portuguese Nationality Regulation).
Photo credits: Bill Hamway in Unsplash
Ana Rita Mendes
34 anos. Advogada em Carlos Canaes & Associados. Trabalha preferencialmente em especial em Direito das Sociedades e Insolvência. Licenciada em Direito pela Universidade de Lisboa, tendo concluído a licenciatura em 2007. Estágio profissional no 2º Cartório Notarial de Almada.
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