Portugal Doubles Residency to 7-10 Years for Citizenship, Tightens Family Reunification and Revokes Citizenship for Criminals

The Portuguese government has approved a series of measures to tighten immigration and naturalization rules, significantly extending the required period of legal residence for foreigners seeking citizenship. The new regulations increase the residency requirement from five years to seven years for citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries, including Brazil, and to ten years for nationals of other countries. Additionally, children born in Portugal will only acquire citizenship if their parents have legally resided in the country for at least three years and formally apply for it. The government also introduced stricter criteria for family reunification, limiting it to immigrants who have been legally residing in Portugal for at least two years, with exceptions for minors and certain other profiles.

The reforms include provisions that allow for the revocation of citizenship from foreign-born criminals. These changes are expected to impact hundreds of thousands of applicants, particularly Brazilians, who represent a significant portion of immigration requests. The Portuguese parliament began debating these proposals in early July 2025, with discussions aligning with initiatives from right-wing populist factions. However, due to controversy, the parliamentary vote on the anti-immigration package was postponed. Meanwhile, immigrants who had completed five years of legal residence in Portugal before mid-June 2025 remain eligible to apply for citizenship under the previous rules. The government also plans to repeal the law facilitating the naturalization of Sephardic Jews. The new measures mark a departure from European Union norms, where citizenship acquisition periods are generally shorter and birthright citizenship is more common.