Portuguese Bill Restricting Nationality Awaits New President's Action

Newly elected President of the Republic António José Seguro kept his promise and returned, on March 10, to Mourísia, Arganil, which had suffered greatly in last summer's wildfires, reported Diário de Notícias. According to the president of Arganil Municipality, promised government support of about 4 million euros still was outstanding. "It is important that these promises are fulfilled, " said Seguro, who said that Parliament also had approved a law to create an Independent Technical Commission in January, which still did not have all 12 members to begin its work. "And in a few months, we have summer again and a potential fire season. Now here is an example of what cannot happen in our country." It's a matter "of changing the way politics is done in Portugal". (Photo by Paulo Novais/Lusa)

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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).

Luzia Moniz added that the new bill would make it more difficult for citizens of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP) to obtain nationality and would create a disparity between the ease with which Portuguese citizens obtain nationality abroad and the difficulties which foreigners would face in Portugal.

The Angolan sociologist considered that the law would be short-lived and hoped that the left would change it when it returns to power.

André Ventura, the president of Chega, said that he hopes that the Constitutional Court "will not create any more problems" regarding the new Nationality Bill, reported RTP (April 1). He considered that what is at stake is "a good agreement" with the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD). He stated that this type of dialogue could be repeated in the future in other type of "major challenges", such as the law of deportation or the decrees relating to gender self-determination.

If signed into law, the bill would 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.

Despite strong opposition before and after the debate, the Socialist Party has not yet indicated whether it will request again a preventive review of the bill, reported Expresso (April 1).

Barring action by the Socialist Party (PS), the decree will be sent to Belém Palace, the official residence of the president, (although President Seguro has said that he will only stay there overnight when commitments require it. He plans to live in his permanent residence in Caldas da Rainha, Leiria.) The president has three options: to promulgate the law; to veto it and return it to Parliament, or request a preventive review from the Constitutionality Court, reported Radio France Internationale.

Changed Criminality Provisions

The provisions in the Nationality Bill, which were reviewed by the Constitutional Court and found to be unconstitutional, for the most part, had to do with criminality and its effect on eligibility for citizenship. These were the provisions which were changed by Parliament.

Catarina Reis Oliveira, sociologist at the Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas, University of Lisbon, analysed a database of crimes recorded by Portuguese authorities and published by the country's Directorate-General of Justice Policy and concluded that "the idea that the increase in immigration beings more crime is a myth", according to Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission (October 17, 2024).

According to the migration specialist, the growing polarization of opinions on migration across Portuguese society is the result of poor data reading. She notes that many variables show the importance of foreign workers to the sustainability of the country's social security system and the mitigation of population decline and ageing. She highlights the importance of ensuring that political decision-makers are aware of these facts and statistics -- as opposed to being led by popular narratives not grounded in reality -- when designing public policies.

The foreign population 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).

Unchanged Provisions Directly Affect Immigrants

There were other provisions in the Nationality Bill, which were not reviewed by the Constitutional Court and which directly affect the lives of immigrants living in Portugal, reported Diário de Notícias Brasil (April 1). They were not changed, and they include the following:

Lengthened Residency Requirements

For immigrants seeking naturalization, the legal residency requirement for application would be extended from five to seven years for citizens of the European Union and the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), and it would 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 would 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 would not have a special regime. They would have the same access to citizenship as other applicants.

Children Born in Portugal

Children born in Portugal would have Portuguese nationality only if "one of the parents has resided legally in national territory for at least five years", another measure supported by Chega, reported CNN Portugal (October 28, 2025). The current law requires one year, according to O Jornal Económico.

Also, the bill would end the naturalization of children born in Portugal to foreigners who are in the country illegally. The current law opens the possibility of naturalization to those who are "children of foreigners, regardless of their legal title".

Portuguese Language and Culture

Furthermore, citizenship only would be obtained by those who "have sufficient knowledge of the Portuguese language and culture, history and national symbols through a test or certificate".

Financial Independence

For Portuguese citizenship, foreign citizens would have to meet a series of requirements, including guarantees of "the ability to provide for their own subsistence", a point which Chega managed to secure the Social Democratic Party's (PSD's) approval, reported Expresso (October 28, 2025).

Changes in the New Bill

Pedro Delgado Alves, coordinator of the Socialist Party (PS) parliamentary group in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, criticized the points of agreement between PSD and Chega, which could generate unconstitutionalities, especially with regard to the amendment to the Penal Code which creates an additional sanction of loss of nationality, reported Expresso (April 1).

The new bill details more crimes whose conviction with an effective sentence may result in the loss of nationality, namely crimes of aggravated homicide, slavery, human trafficking, rape, sexual abuse, crimes against state security and terrorism. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Social Democratic Center — People's Party (CDS-PP) accepted the inclusion of crimes that Chega wanted to result in the loss of nationality, such as arms- and drug-trafficking, and organized crime for its leaders.

The Chega party's statement mentions that "Chega's proposal to reduce the criminal conviction period from five to three years as a factor preventing the acquisition of nationality" was accepted -- in other words,the law as it stands now. The previous version had specified a two-year prison term.

The new bill adds the possibility for a naturalized Portuguese citizen to recover nationality after losing it for committing a serious crime, although the time frame for making the request ranges from 15 to 25 years in the case of the most serious crimes (on this point, PSD backtracked on its deadlines and accepted those of Chega, which are longer).

Regarding obtaining nationality through fraudulent means, the new bill safeguards "nationality obtained by bona fide third parties", which can be applied to descendants of naturalized citizens who have committed fraud.

The Four Unconstitutional Provisions

The four unconstitutional provisions were the counting of legal residence beginning when the application is approved by the Public Administration, not when the application is submitted by the applicant; the impediment to obtaining citizenship for those convicted of a crime with a two-year sentence; "the consolidation of nationality does not apply to bona fide holders in situations of manifest fraud", and nationality may be refused to those who demonstrate "behaviors that, in a conclusive and overt manner, reject adherence to the national community, its representative institutions and national symbols".

Penal Code Ancillary

The 11-judge court also struck down an ancillary provision in the Penal Code, which imposed the loss of nationality from "an agent who has been sentenced to an effective prison sentence of four years or more" within 10 years of acquiring Portuguese nationality.

The Vote

A total of 152 deputies from the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Chega, Liberal Initiative (IL) and Social Democratic Center — People's Party (CDS-PP) voted in favor of the Nationality Bill while 64 from the Socialist Party (PS), Livre, Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), Left Bloc (BE) and People, Animals and Nature Party (PAN) voted against the bill, reported RTP. The sole deputy from Together for the People (JPP) abstained from the vote. There are 230 members of Parliament. A minimum of 116 deputies was required to ensure an absolute majority. A total of 217 deputies were present for the vote.

The Nationality Law regulates whether a person is or can become Portuguese, whether by nationality at birth or by acquisition (naturalization). Created in 1981, it has undergone several changes, according to CNN Portugal (October 28, 2025).

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."

Portugal's History of Emigration

Ironic.

Portugal, a country of about 10.7 million, has a long history of emigration.

According to the web portal, Portuguese Government: Foreign Affairs:

“Portuguese communities around the world are one of the most important strategic assets of the Portuguese Foreign Policy and are the most significant display of global Portugal. . . .

"There are more than 2 million Portuguese emigrants around the world today, and if we take into account the descendants of Portuguese emigrants, the population with Portuguese origins in hosting countries would be around 5 million – more than 40 percent of the population residing in the national territory – a diaspora that reaches the five continents.

“Not only does Portuguese emigration remain a constant feature of our identity, as it continues to shape our imagination and our society, but it also constitutes a valuable cultural, political and economic heritage due to its size, diversity and geographic spread."