Nationality Law approved

The changes to the Nationality Law, which stemmed from a government proposal, were approved on October 28th in a final overall vote by the PSD/CDS, Chega, and IL parties, exceeding the required absolute majority of 116 out of 230 deputies.

By TPN/Lusa, in News · 29 Oct 2025, 12:02 · 7 Comments

Credits: Supplied Image; Author: Client;

As announced on October 24th, during the review process of the nationality law in committee, within the Constitutional Affairs Committee, the PS, Livre, Bloco de Esquerda, PAN, and PCP voted against. JPP deputy Filipe Sousa voted in favour.

The changes to the nationality law obtained 157 votes in favour and 64 against, a result that represents a majority of more than two-thirds.

Before the final overall vote on the changes to the nationality law, the PSD, CDS, Iniciativa Liberal, and Chega rejected a series of appeals to the plenary session presented by the PS and Livre parties.

The Chega party's draft bill to revise the nationality law only received votes from its own party, abstentions from the JPP, and opposing votes from all other parties.

Regarding the version that emerged from the specialised process, which ended on Friday, October 24, PSD and CDS have now accepted a reformulation presented by Chega, according to which those who obtain nationality through manifestly fraudulent means will lose it. This was the only amendment approved in the plenary session.

What is needed to acquire Portuguese nationality?

In the final version of the proposal, it will state that obtaining nationality will only be possible after ten years of legal residence in Portugal, with seven years for citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries and the European Union.

Among other changes, there will be a new requirement to prove, through a "test or certificate," that nationality applicants "sufficiently know the Portuguese language and culture, history, and national symbols."

More consensual, although it received a dissenting vote from Livre, was the condition imposed on nationality applicants who have not been convicted, with a final and unappealable decision, "with a prison sentence equal to or greater than two years".

In the speciality phase, PSD and CDS introduced an addition to the conditions for access to nationality, this one relating to guarantees of means of subsistence for those residing in national territory – an addition that PS classified as "a concession to Chega" and which led Pedro Delgado Alves to warn of "risks of injustice".

Also like the PS opposition, children born in Portugal will only have nationality if "one of the parents has legally resided in national territory for at least five years" – another measure supported by Chega.

On the other hand, at the proposal of the PSD/CDS Government, the naturalisation of those born in Portugal to foreigners who are illegally in the country is ended. In the law still in force, the possibility of naturalisation is opened to those who are "children of foreigners, regardless of title".

In terms of rules to regulate the future law, the socialists' demand to open a transitional period until March of next year was rejected by the governing parties.

The document that came out of the specialisation phase includes the rule that the new law will come into force the day after its publication.

Still trying to understand if this chage will effect those in process. Or does it mean more rationally that this change in rule would only effect those looking to become residents starting from day of implementation.

By Mark Williams from Porto on 29 Oct 2025, 13:57

"Rationality" plays no part here.
I have seen a number of these articles and have seen anything about grandfathering those in the process.
10 years seems a bit excessive but I do not know how it compares to other countries.

By j from Algarve on 30 Oct 2025, 12:29

I’ve never seen a political party lose and still get so much of what they wanted. Shameful.

I work here as a highly-skilled professional. My wife and I pay property taxes, IUC taxes, VAT taxes, mobile phone plan, ISP plan, Utilities, meals at restaurants, goods from stores, and I pay into a Social Security system I’ll never even use. We use private healthcare and insurance so we’re not a drain on public healthcare, yet we put nearly all of our money into the Portuguese economy and are taking language courses.

Why are we being punished? We followed every rule, waited through two years of delays with SEF/AIMA, and now they move the goal posts? It’s a breach of contract, and if everyone in our situation leaves, local businesses and tax coffers are going to be hit hard.

If there are people taking advantage of services without paying any taxes, go after THEM! Don’t use Chega’s blunt instrument / Trump approach that plays on people’s fears and treats all immigrants as freeloaders and criminals. Chega says, “Save Portugal!” Save it from what? Becoming a successful, flourishing European nation that respects diversity? If this much energy and time was put into increasing wages, it would go a long way toward solving the affordability issue.

This new law will ultimately not be good for Portugal financially or socially, if it’s even legal. I can’t believe we uprooted our lives and sold everything to move here only to have the cancer of xenophobia follow us here.

By Clive from Algarve on 30 Oct 2025, 14:57

@ Clive, there´s no breach of contract, Portugal owes foreigners nothing, and I say this as a foreigner living here. There is a 10-year wait for citizenship in other countries too, like Switzerland.
Quite right of the Portuguese government to tighten the rules. There has been too much abuse of citizenship, with people coming to Portugal to gain it then use it to move elsewhere, under the EU´s freedom of movement. Foreigners taking Portuguese citizenship should have to have a long and enduring relationship with the country, and feel some affinity for it, and not want to acquire it as a bargaining chip for other purposes.

By Billy Bissett from Porto on 31 Oct 2025, 11:42

We understand that there has to be control over who enters one's country. We have invested in a business in Portugal, we are busy buying a house in Portugal. We are not freeloaders, we can take care of ourselves and do Not expect Portugal to take care of us. We want to live in Portugal permanently because our country is more than unsafe. Surely there must be an exception for those who have applied for citizenship before the implementation of the law?

By Estelle Bekker from Algarve on 01 Nov 2025, 06:12

@Billy, I’m sorry to see you felt compelled to dismiss or invalidate my concerns.

When a government passes a program to incentivize people to uproot their lives and move to their country to live and work, they absolutely DO owe it to people approved for the plan, to adhere to what was offered! To do otherwise is a bait-and-switch scheme which doesn’t speak well to said government’s ethics and values.

What proof do you have that I, or anyone else for that matter, took a job here as a “bargaining chip for other purposes?” I would never go through the stress, anxiety and cost this move incurred, just to do it all over again in another country. If I had wanted to live in another country, I’d have passed on this opportunity and looked for something in another country. We invested massive amounts of our earnings to move, get settled, and establish residency here and my wife and I are committed to learning the language and customs. For us, this law feels like a gut punch.

You conveniently mentioned Switzerland’s 10-year path to minimize my concerns, but you left out France, Bulgaria, Ireland, Luxembourg, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium, all of which still have 5-year citizenship paths available.

Even if someone did use citizenship to move to another country, SO WHAT? They could have gone to any of the countries above and done the same thing then moved to Portugal. It’s sad to see people defending this law and pretending it’s just fine for a gov’t to rescind terms of incentives after families have committed themselves to it and had their lives changed.

You’re not negatively impacted by the new law or don’t care? Good for you but we are, so we will carry on in opposition to it.

By Clive from Algarve on 02 Nov 2025, 14:31

Clive, your frustration is completely justified. Changes like this should apply to new applicants, not those who have followed every rule, and are finally approaching the point where they can apply for residency or citizenship. Moving the goalposts so late in the game is deeply unfair.

For anyone reading who came to Portugal under the same circumstances, check your residency card. If it says “Artigo 50 do TUE”, that means you entered under the Withdrawal Agreement, and your rights are protected. These new proposals should not affect you, because your status is part of an international treaty that Portugal can’t just rewrite.

If your card doesn’t mention Article 50, I’m still standing in full solidarity. No one who has genuinely built a life here deserves to be swept into blanket policies that make no distinction between people contributing to the country and people gaming the system. This isn’t the way to honour the investment, stability, and community so many have brought into Portugal. It’s not unreasonable to want fairness and consistency in return.

By Letitia from Algarve on 26 Nov 2025, 13:40