Portuguese Parliament Rejects Loss of Nationality As Crime Penalty

(Photo by Tiago Petinga/Lusa)

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The Portuguese Parliament rejected new attempts to legislate on the loss of nationality as an accessory crime penalty, reported Expresso (July 3). Previously, the Constitutional Court had struck down two other versions in May of this year and in December 2025.

Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro (PSD), defended a third version of the decree, assuring the Assembleia da República that the measure would be of "rare application" and addresses the concerns of the Constitutional Court. On the other hand, André Ventura argued that the most recent decree, supported by his Chega party and ruled as unconstitutional by the judges, should find confirmation.

"The loss (of nationality) is always a last-resort, case-by-case solution to protect the State from subversive terrorism, from serious attacks on national sovereignty, on the rule of law, from intimidating barbarity which terrorizes the lives or sexual integrity of groups, specific individuals, or the population in general. That is what we are trying to do here," said Leitão Amaro, in a debate on the morning of July 3, according to Renascença (July 3).

Contrary to the initially stated intention to drop the ancillary penalty of loss of nationality, declared unconstitutional, PSD (Social Democratic Party) and CDS-PP (People's Party) presented a third decree, which reduced the range of crimes compared to the previous version, reported Expresso (July 2). Members of Parliament António Rodrigues (PSD) and João Almeida CDS-PP (People's Party) announced it on July 2.

In addition to crimes against the State and terrorism, the PSD and CDS-PP insist on aggravated homicide, aggravated rape and criminal association but only when these crimes have a "terrifying impact" on society and public opinion, said António Rodrigues.

The proposed amendment presented by PSD (Social Democratic Party) and CDS-PP (People's Party) was rejected with votes against from PS (Socialist Party), Chega, PCP (Portuguese Communist Party), BE (Left Bloc), Livre, PAN (People Animals Nature), abstentions from the liberals and votes in favor from PSD, CDS and Rui Rocha of the Liberal Initiative (IL), according to Renascença.

Meanwhile, Chega's intention to confirm the decree declared as unconstitutional was rejected by all other parliamentary groups, except for CDS. PSD voted against it.

For approval, a two-thirds majority of the deputies present would have been required, provided it is greater than the absolute majority of deputies in office. However, it was rejected with 152 votes against and 56 in favor, including Paulo Núncio and João Almeida from the CDS-PP party.

Other Countries

Those who come to Portugal either comply with the rules or do not deserve to be Portuguese," said André Ventura (Chega). He said that in the most advanced countries in Europe, there is a loss of nationality, reported Expresso (July 3). His definition of "advanced" is unclear.

Leitão Amaro (PSD) also used the argument that the Portuguese Constitution already provides for the loss of nationality in "certain situations". It would seem that the Constitutional Court would be aware of these scenarios and, if so, why is there a need for an amendment?

He added that the loss of nationality already exists in countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Denmark and Germany. In specific and limited circumstances, different in each country, this is true. Yet, it does seem to be a weak argument: Portugal should allow it because other countries allow it. Truly, it is not an argument at all.

In Acquisition and Loss of Citizenship in EU Member States: Overview and Key Issues (February 24, 2025), Think Tank, European Parliament, questions are raised about citizenship equality and its effectiveness in reducing terrorism :

"One of the main legal objections against citizenship deprivation is the duty of states to prevent statelessness. This legal constraint explains why most deprivation provisions only concern dual citizens.

"However, making the citizenship of persons holding dual citizenship less secure than that of persons holding single citizenship raises questions about citizenship equality. In a similar way, distinguishing between naturalised citizens and native citizens for the purpose of citizenship deprivation leads to the creation of different classes of citizens.

"There are also serious doubts about the effectiveness of citizenship deprivation as an instrument to combat terrorism, given that other means (such as criminal sanctions and withdrawing mobility rights) could serve this purpose."

Parliamentary Reactions

The Executive wants to solve "problems which don't exist. As if the country didn't have serious problems to solve," said Paula Santos, the parliamentary leader of the PCP, citing the victims of the winter's "train of storms" and stalled processes at AIMA (Agency for Integration and Asylum), according to Expresso (July 3).

BE (Left Bloc) member, Fabian Figueiredo, said that what is at stake for the PSD is following the "rhetoric of the far-right". Losing nationality would not solve any problems nor would it restore public tranquility. "It is reality and facts which bring public tranquility, not far-right fads, which don't increase security, only the perception of it."

Ancillary Amendment's History

In December 2025, regarding the amendment to the Penal Code which would create the penalty of loss of nationality, the judges were unanimous in declaring it unconstitutional for violating the principles of guilt, equality and proportionality, reported Expresso (December 15, 2025).

In the ruling by Judge Carlos Loureiro, the problems begin in the very first paragraph of the bill, which applies an accessory penalty "only respectively to non-native citizens who have committed a criminal offense in the 10 years following the acquisition of Portuguese nationality".

This singling out, on the judges' view, violates "the principle of equality enshrined in Article 13 of the Constitution as there is no sufficient material basis for the differentiation in treatment based on the manner of obtaining citizenship -- acquisition of nationality versus the granting of nationality -- as well as on the time elapsed since the acquisition of nationality took place, whether less or more than 10 years ago.

In May, the Constitutional Court again struck down unanimously a proposed Penal Code amendment, which stipulates the penalty of loss of Portuguese naturalization for those who commit particular crimes with sentences of more than five years within 15 years of attaining citizenship,reported Expresso (May 8).

The 11-judge court based its decision on the violation of the principle of equality as the proposed law would apply only to naturalized citizens, not to those who were born in Portugal, and the principle of proportionality.

The revised Penal Code amendment was approved by right-wing parties in Parliament in April.

Law of Nationality, Foreigners' Law and a Bill on Deportation

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, reported Expresso (May 3). However, he cautioned that pending processes should not be affected and that no one should be harmed by the State's slowness.

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."