Portugal's President Seguro OKs Nationality Bill With Regrets

António José Seguro was elected President of the Portuguese Republic on February 8 in the second round of elections, against Chega leader André Ventura, with a record number of more than 3.5 million votes, or 66.84 percent of the cast votes. He has undertaken Open Presidencies, in which he visits areas outside of the capital, addressing particular challenges. In the photo above, he visited Alcácer do Sal Municipality, in Setúbal District, where he talked with displaced residents and others affected by the floods of January and February caused by a train of storms. (Photo from the official website of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic (March 30)

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The President of the Republic of Portugal António José Seguro promulgated the Nationality Bill, approved in Parliament by right-wing parties and citing stricter rules for applying for Portuguese citizenship, on May 3. However, he wrote that he wished that it had been based "on greater consensus" without "the ideological marks of the moment".

Seguro also said that "legally established time frames for obtaining nationality are not affected by the slowness of the State".

A separate amendment to the Penal Code, which creates an accessory penalty of loss of nationality, is pending a decision from the Constitutional Court since the Socialist Party (PS) requested a preventive review.

President Seguro explained his action on the official website of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic (May 3):

"However, despite the parliamentary majority which approved the legislative, the President of the Republic reiterates that the revision of the law of such reinforced value and importance as the Nationality Law also should be based on greater consensus around its essential principles, distancing itself, as he has had the opportunity to mention in the past, from any "ideological hallmarks of the moment". This distancing would recommend that the Nationality Law not be subject to successive amendments, to the detriment of legal certainty and, consequently, of individuals, and risking affecting the indispensable credibility of institutions.

"The President of the Republic's decision to enact the law was influenced by the understanding that the more stringent criteria and longer time frames for acquiring nationality do not impede the essential humanitarian protection and desirable integration of children and minors born in Portugal to immigrant parents, as established in the national legal framework, particularly regarding access to healthcare and education. The President of the Republic believes that any future legislative changes and the formulation of new public policies always should give special attention to the protection and integration of children and minors born in Portugal.

"The President of the Republic emphasizes the importance of ensuring that pending processes are not -- effectively -- affected by the legislative change, as this would constitute an undesirable breach of trust in the State, both internally and externally.

"Finally, the President of the Republic also points out the importance of ensuring that the legally established time frames for obtaining nationality are not affected by the slowness of the State."

The law will take effect after publication in the Diário da República (Official Gazette).

The law will tighten the rules for obtaining Portuguese citizenship and add to the stringent changes already implemented in the Lei de Estrangeiros (Foreigners' Law), signed by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on October 16, 2025, reported Radio France Internationale (April 2). The president had vetoed an earlier version in August 2025.

Lengthened Residency Requirements

Among the changes in the Nationality Law is the legal residency requirement for application, which will be extended from five to seven years for citizens of the European Union and the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), and it will be 10 years for citizens of the United States and other countries.

The founding members of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP) were Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, and São Tomé and Príncipe in 1996. East Timor joined in 2002, after achieving independence, and Equatorial Guinea joined in 2014.

Brazil is the country with the most residents in Portugal, almost 485,000, five times more than the number from India, which is the second most represented country, according to Pordata (December 18, 2025).

Sephardic Jews

The Nationality Bill will revoke the 2015 amendment, which has had subsequent restrictive changes, for descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews, who could become citizens without a residence requirement as a way of making reparations for the Portuguese Inquisition's estimated 40,000 victims in the Portuguese Empire between 1536 and 1794, according to The Marrano Factory: The Portuguese Inquisition and Its New Christians 1536-1765.

Descendants of Sephardic Jews will not have a special regime. They will have the same access to citizenship as other applicants.

Spirited Debate

On October 28, 2025, after three voting postponements and much spirited discussion among the political parties, Parliament approved a revision of the Lei da Nacionalidade (Nationality Law), which cited stricter rules for applying for Portuguese citizenship.

The Socialist Party (PS) asked the opinion of Constitutional Court on specific rules. The Constitutional Court affirmed the unconstitutionality of four provisions and of one ancillary provision in the Penal Code, reported Expresso (December 15, 2025). President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the head of state and primary guardian of the Constitution, vetoed the bill, which was sent back to Parliament.

On April 1, Parliament approved a reworked Nationality Bill with 152 votes in favor from right-wing party members, and 64 votes against from left-wingers and one abstention, reported RTP (April 2). The extreme-right "Portugal for the Portuguese" Chega, which now has the second-largest number of deputies in Parliament, is dictating the political agenda of the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD), said Angolan sociologist and journalist Luzia Moniz, according to Radio France Internationale (April 2).

Big Increase in Immigrants

The foreign population in Portugal has seen a huge increase in the last three years, reaching more than 1 million immigrants in 2023. Foreign residents now represent 9.8 percent of the national population of 10.7 million, according to Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission (October 17, 2024).

Third Big Change in Immigration Policy

Following the Foreigners' Law and the Law of Nationality, there is a third major piece of migration policy -- expedited deportation of immigrants, which already is on its way, reported Diário de Notícias (April 1).

"This week, the text of the government's pacote retorno was submitted to Parliament. DN understands that (Prime minister) Luís Montenegro's executive is in a hurry to approve it, but a date for the start of the discussion has not yet been set. Deputy António Rodrigues, PSD spokesperson on these issues, already has anticipated that the discussion on deportations will be 'the same', anticipating an understanding between the right-wing forces in the approval of the legislation."

Nationality on Europe's Agenda

The debate over restricting access to nationality is on the agenda throughout Europe. Recently, Finland increased the minimum waiting time from five to eight years, reported Expresso (July 3, 2025).

"In this matter, the Portuguese government is following the trend of the times, dominated by nationalist and far-right narratives which create distrust, viewing immigrants as a threat, said Isabel Carvalhais, professor at the University of Minho and specialist in citizenship and nationality policies. "Afraid of losing voters, center-right and even center-left governments are aligning themselves with these narratives, validating them and helping to further entrench them in the population."