In a giant stride in the right direction, the Portuguese parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, has passed a substitute text that brings back the timeline for applying for citizenship. Under the newly approved Portugal Citizenship Law Reform, citizens of EU Member States and CPLP countries must now complete seven years of legal residence before they can apply for Portuguese citizenship. The applicants from all other countries will now have to obtain a ten-year legal residence requirement before submitting their applications.
This is a radical overhaul of Portugal’s naturalisation laws, with far-reaching implications for foreign residents and investors alike. Portugal Citizenship Law Reform is one of the biggest shake-ups of the Portuguese nationality framework in recent memory. Similar transformations can be observed in regional programs like the Romania Golden Visa 2025. For detailed insight into how Portugal’s nationality system evolved, see Portugalist’s overview of Portuguese citizenship rules.
Principal Changes in the Portugal Citizenship Law Reform
Residence-Period Counting Starts from Permit Issuance
One of the most significant reforms in the Portugal Citizenship Law Reform relates to the basis on which the residence count starts. Under the new bill, authorities start counting citizenship eligibility from the date they issue the residence permit, not from the moment applicants submit their residency application.
Legal analysts observe that it typically takes between two and three years for foreigners to get their initial residence permit. Therefore, although the law sets a requirement of “seven or ten years,” most applicants actually wait nine to thirteen years or even longer unless the authorities speed up the permit process.
Differentiation Among Applicant Groups in Portugal Citizenship Law Reform
The new law provides a clear avenue for two groups:
- EU citizens and CPLP citizens: These are covered by the seven-year rule.
- Other citizens: These have to complete the full ten years of lawful residence to become eligible for citizenship.
This variation highlights Portugal’s policy consideration of establishing closer relationships with the countries that speak the Portuguese language and the European allies, but more difficult barriers with the others. Thus, the Reform of Portugal Citizenship Law is based on both political and cultural convergence interests.
Counting of Residence – Continuous or Interrupted
The Portuguese Reform Law of Citizenship clarifies that authorities will combine all periods of legal residence, whether continuous or interrupted, as long as they fall within a ten-year timeframe. This means applicants who temporarily leave Portugal can still count those years toward their total residence requirement, provided they maintain lawful status throughout.
This measure provides leeway for maneuver for individuals who move temporarily or travel overseas but do not lose their lawful residence in Portugal.
Protection of Pending Applications — But Not All Residents
According to Article 5 of the Reform of the Portugal Citizenship Law, authorities will process all applications submitted before the law’s enactment under the old five-year rule. The law does not seem to grant residents the same safeguard who have legal residence but have yet to make an application for citizenship. The new, extended thresholds could now include such residents.
This discrimination will be a controversial point for impacted citizens and legal professionals since it will form two groups of petitioners based on the filing date.
Implementation Timeline and Next Steps of Portugal Citizenship Law Reform
Parliamentary and Presidential Procedures
The bill will face a final world vote at the Assembly on Tuesday, 28 October 2025. Since Parliament already approved the text of substitution, lawmakers will now ratify the law in its current form. Following Parliament approval, it will go to the President for promulgation.
Subsequently, the President could either sign the law into operation or refer it to the Constitutional Court of Portugal for review. It is common practice that major reforms like the Portugal Citizenship Law Reform to make this move prior to implementation in order to ensure it is constitutional compliant. For reference, see prior coverage in Portugal Nationality Law Reform 2025: New Proposals and Doubt Over Timeline Delay Vote.
Entry into Force and Regulatory Updates under Portugal Citizenship Law Reform
The law comes into force when it is gazetted in the official publication, the Diário da República. The government must remake the Nationality Regulation within ninety days of publication and prescribe new civics and state-knowledge test requirements for future applicants.
These upcoming amendments will guide how the Portugal Citizenship Law Reform functions in practice and specify what evidence or documentation applicants must provide.
Retroactive Effects and Legal Uncertainty
Although the bill covers pending naturalisation applications submitted prior to the enactment of the law, it does not say or imply grandfathering all existing legal residents who had indicated that they would come forward to apply under the five-year provision but had yet to do so.
Legal specialists warn that this will most probably hold constitutional-law risks and may open up courts to challenge. Therefore, applicants or affected residents can challenge the Portugal Citizenship Law Reform before Portugal’s Constitutional Court to determine how far its retrospective effect should extend.
Implications for Foreign Residents and Investors under Portugal Citizenship Law Reform
Effect on Golden Visa Holders and Investors
Foreigners who obtained residence permits under investment-schemes (also referred to as “golden visas”) may see their way to citizenship much delayed. As the residence number starts at permit issuance—and may take several years to complete the real time to citizenship for the majority of investors would now become from the initial five years to nine to thirteen years or more.
Portugal Citizenship Law Reform thus changes the mathematics for families thinking of Portugal as a path to citizenship, and can affect investment timing, compliance, and exit strategy decisions.
For international investors evaluating Portugal’s updated path to citizenship, our in-depth article Portugal Nationality Law 2025 – Foreigners, Investors and Families Should Read explains how the reform reshapes long-term residence strategies.
Impacts on Family Reunification and Residence Strategies
The longer residence requirement of the Portugal Citizenship Law Reform can make strategic planning more significant for families. For instance:
- Others living here may prefer to submit naturalisation requests before the coming into force of new legislation in order to preserve the easier five-year route.
- Members of one’s family may have to prepare for extended stays, residence permits being still valid and breaks or lacunae well-prepared.
- Legal residence continuity now carries greater importance, as authorities consider the principle of aggregating different residence periods.
All these aspects will be relevant to long-term residents who aspire to naturalise in due course.
Conditions of Integration, Language and Culture in Portugal Citizenship Law Reform
In addition to more extensive residence conditions, the reform also necessitates more onerous integration conditions. These are:
- A language requirement in Portuguese.
- A test or proof of knowledge of the culture of Portugal, the rights and obligations of the Portuguese Republic, and respect for democratic values.
Naturalisation is no longer a matter of time but one of permanent integration. The Portugal Citizenship Law Reform establishes cultural and linguistic acquaintance as a key requirement in the citizenship process.
Why Portugal Is Making These Changes
Political and Social Drivers
A number of drivers are driving the reform of the nationality law of Portugal:
- The rise in political pressure from newer parties and changes in public opinion towards the control of immigration.
- An aim on the part of the government to tighten the “link” between prospective citizens and the Portuguese people.
- Compliance with wider European practice in terms of levels of naturalisation and policy on citizenship.
Through the Portugal Citizenship Law Reform, Portugal is seeking to find balance between openness/integration and creating future citizens who have a real, long-term connection with the nation.
Portuguese authorities are currently processing an extensive backlog of naturalisation and citizenship applications, numbering in the hundreds of thousands. In decelerating residence-to-citizenship, the state can more easily manage or decelerate naturalisation levels, thus modifying integration workloads and population flows.
Portugal Citizenship Law Reform is also in favor of focusing on real settlement as opposed to short-term strategic residence to become eligible for citizenship. It seeks to encourage the genuineness of residence and country commitment.
What to Do If You Are Impacted
Current Residents Planning Citizenship
In case you are an alien with regular residence in Portugal and are thinking of presenting a petition for citizenship, you ought to act forcefully:
- Check whether you can submit your citizenship application before the law takes effect under the existing five-year rule.
- If you are already in lawful residence but haven’t yet applied for citizenship, question yourself if you should submit your application now under the previous rule or if you are willing to undergo a longer journey under the new one.
- Keep your home intact and your documents in order, and make sure you meet or can meet the language and integration requirements.
- Seek professional advice on applying the Portugal Citizenship Law Reform to your individual circumstances, particularly if you acquired residence by investment or on a golden-visa path.
Potential Investors or Newcomers under Portugal Citizenship Law Reform
In the event you’re planning to relocate to Portugal with a view to citizenship by residence or investment:
- Be aware that the streamlined timeline to citizenship will also take more time actually twice as long under the new system.
- Determine if your investment timeline and moving strategy are still sensible with a nine- to thirteen-year (or more) path to citizenship.
- Consider whether other residency or citizenship options in other nations are a superior choice for your goals in the face of the longer timeline.
- Track the entry into force date of the Portugal Citizenship Law Reform exactly, in order to freeze in the old rules if possible.
Stay Current with Regulatory Developments of Portugal Citizenship Law Reform
Once the Portugal Citizenship Law Reform is published, the government must amend the Nationality Regulation and define the civics and state-knowledge test requirements within ninety days.
The postponement of its implementation can lead to a brief period of uncertainty. As the situation emerges, keep yourself abreast of the newest statements, judicial rulings, and administrative decrees.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1. Does the new law come into effect immediately for everyone who resides there?
Not precisely. Applications made prior to the law coming into force will be handled on the basis of the previous conditions (five years residence). Lawful residents who have not yet applied by the date the law comes into force will presumably be caught by the new extended residence periods seven or ten years. The date of conclusive publication in the Diário da República is decisive.
Q2. How long will the residence period be ten years?
According to the reform of the Portugal Citizenship Law, citizens of non-CPLP nations must have ten years of legal residence to obtain citizenship. Citizens of CPLP nations must have seven years. The time periods start on the day on which the permit was issued.
Q3. Is residence continuous?
No. Reform of the Law of Portuguese Citizenship permits the aggregation of periods of legal residence interrupted or continuous but always as long as within the period of ten years provided for in law. Short periods of temporary absence may be forgiven, provided you must keep legal residence status.
Q4. What becomes of the time spent waiting for a residence permit?
Under the Reform of the Law of Citizenship of Portugal, the period of residence starts from the date of receiving the residence permit, and not from the first submission of the residency request. If your permit is two or three years, that period will not be counted towards the requirement of residence for citizenship.
Q5. Would children born in Portugal be automatically citizens under the new law?
Not always. The reform reverses the rules for children born in Portugal to foreign parents: birthright citizenship no longer exists but requires stricter residence conditions on the part of the parents and an explicit application instead of automatic acquisition.
Q6. Are there any other tests or conditions?
Yes. Besides the residence condition, the Portugal Citizenship Law Reform places the following conditions upon applicants:
- To prove adequate knowledge of the Portuguese language.
- Pass or pass a test of democratic values, citizen rights and responsibilities, and Portuguese tradition.
- Can be subject to more stringent criminal-record checks.
Q7. If I already have a residence permit on the investment or golden-visa route, what will happen?
You are not exempted under the Reform of the Portugal Citizenship Law if you apply once the new law takes effect. Due to the delays in granting the permits, you could find yourself waiting considerably longer than five years nine to thirteen years, depending on bureaucracies. It is well that you reconsider your strategy and timeline in light of this.
Q8. Can the new law be challenged in court?
Yes. Due to how existing residents (who did not apply) are distinguished from those who applied by the Reform of the Portugal Citizenship Law, constitutional issues can be invoked. The President can refer the law to the Constitutional Court prior to promulgation and interested parties can initiate legal challenges upon entry into force.
Concluding Remarks on Portugal Citizenship Law Reform
The Reform of the Portugal Citizenship Law is a crucial change in the naturalisation policy of the country. By raising the residence requirement to seven or ten years, changing the point of departure for counting, and increasing integration requirements, Portugal sends a signal of a selective, integration-oriented policy with respect to citizenship.
For foreign residents, investors, and families, the practical day-to-day implication is obvious: obtaining Portuguese citizenship will take longer, cost more effort, and demand more integration. Those in process need to get a move on; those thinking of considering Portugal as a destination for citizenship need to completely consider the increased time frame. Comparable evolutions across Europe notably in the Romania Golden Visa 2025 legislation underline a regional trend toward more structured residency pathways.
