Citizenship by naturalisation is available after 5 years of lawfully residing in Portugal. It is available to those who moved to the country to study, work, or after investing in the state’s economy. The minimum investment required for that is €250,000.
Life partners of Portuguese nationals can be naturalised faster, after 3 years of marriage or registered partnership.
Portugal citizenship by naturalisation
According to the Portugal Nationality Law, citizenship by naturalisation is granted to foreigners who have been lawfully living in Portugal with a valid residence permit for at least five years.
There are six main ways to obtain residency in Portugal for foreigners:
- By investment.
- By obtaining a visa for financially independent people.
- By funding a startup.
- By working for a Portuguese employer.
- By committing to study or scientific research at a Portuguese university.
- By marriage or family reunification.
Other requirements include proving a substantial link with the national community, sufficient knowledge of Portuguese, and availability of means to provide for their livelihood. Also, the applicant needs to prove that have never been convicted of a crime that, under Portuguese law, carries a sentence of three years or more in jail.
To prove their skills in the Portuguese language and ties to the local community, applicants also take a culture and language exam called “Certificado Inicial de Português Língua Estrangeira”. It consists of reading, writing, listening and speaking parts.
The timeframe for obtaining residency depends on the chosen way to apply. For instance, financially independent people can obtain residence permits within 4—6 months. The processing time for students’ and employees’ applications is around 3 months.
Portugal citizenship by naturalisation after making an investment
The investment path to Portugal citizenship takes 5—6 years. An investor first obtains residency by joining the Golden Visa Program. Then, provided that they kept the investment for at least 5 years, they can become a citizen of Portugal by naturalisation.
There are seven investment options, starting from €250,000 for supporting local arts and restoring cultural heritage. Most Golden Visa applicants tend to choose the returnable options: purchasing real estate of at least €280,000 or acquiring shares in local fund units of at least €500,000.
Close family members of the main applicant can get residency permits under the same investment. This applies to:
- spouses;
- children under 18;
- children from 18 to 26, fully financially dependent on the main applicant;
- financially dependent parent of the investor or their spouse;
- siblings if they are under 26 and are in the investor’s custody.
Timeframe. For investors, obtaining a residency permit takes around 8—10 months. After that, they are required to renew it every two years. To do so, they must maintain the investment and visit Portugal at least 7 days a year.
Five years after obtaining residency, investors and their family members can apply for citizenship by naturalisation. They need to provide a Portuguese language certificate at the A2 level or higher.
Portugal citizenship by marriage
Spouses of Portuguese nationals can get a Portugal passport after 3 years of marriage. This also applies to registered partners if they can prove they were in relationships for over 3 years.
Aside from that, the applicant provides documents proving their ties to the Portuguese community: salary receipts, utility bills, personal income tax declarations, Portuguese language certificates, etc.
Timeframe. The process of obtaining Portuguese nationality by marriage can take 1 to 2 years, depending on the applicant’s circumstances.
Fees. To request citizenship, applicants pay an application fee of €250. They also need to pay the exam fee of €75.
Portugal citizenship by birth and by descent
By birth. Children born on Portuguese territory to a family of Portuguese nationals automatically become citizens of the country.
A child born in Portugal can acquire citizenship by birth even if their parents are not citizens. It is the case only when at least one of the parents had resided in Portugal for at least a year before the child's birth.
If a child was born to a Portuguese family living abroad and has citizenship of another state, they still can request a Portugal passport. This also applies in cases when only one of the parents is Portuguese.
To apply, children of Portugal citizens need to provide their birth certificates and the birth certificates of their parents.
By descent. In Portugal, citizenship by descent is granted only to direct grandchildren of Portuguese nationals. It is required that that grandparent hasn’t lost their citizenship.
Descendants will be granted citizenship if they prove their ties to the Portuguese community. The connection can be reasoned by:
- knowledge of the Portuguese language;
- documented frequent visits to the country;
- residency in Portugal;
- rented or owned property in Portugal for more than 3 years;
- regular participation in activities of Portuguese communities abroad within the last 5 years.
The application fee for descendants and children of Portuguese nationals is €250.
Benefits of Portugal citizenship
Freedom of travel. A Portugal passport allows travelling visa-free to 188 countries, including the USA, Canada, and Australia.
Quality of life. While being a relatively affordable place to live, Portugal offers a high quality of life: it is ranked in the top 30 most prosperous countries in the Prosperity Index by the Legatum Institute.
The index evaluates various aspects of living in 160 nations, including infrastructure, market access, and safety and security. In Portugal, the personal life and living conditions pillars were ranked high.
Education. Portugal nationals can study at local universities without tuition fees, including the seven Portuguese universities from the QS World University Ranking.
Aside from that, they can choose to study at any EU university without having to take exams for international students.
Taxes. Portugal offers beneficial taxation conditions to new residents and citizens. For instance, new residents of Portugal can apply for the special Non-Habitual Resident (NHR) status.
The status allows its holders to reduce their tax burden: NHRs don’t have to pay taxes on global income in Portugal. Meanwhile, income from Portuguese sources is charged a 20% tax instead of the potential 48%.
Work and business. Portugal citizens can freely work and start or expand their business in any EU state. They won’t have to obtain work permits or long-term visas to move to another EU country.
Laid-back lifestyle. Portugal is one of the top choices for expats from all over the world — and one of the reasons is its tranquil and calm setting. After moving here, people quickly set aside their work-centric attitude to enjoy their lives under the refreshing ocean breeze.
Frequently asked questions
The easy path to Portugal citizenship highly depends on the given circumstances.
Generally, it takes foreigners 5+ years to obtain Portuguese nationality by naturalisation. The one exception is the case of marriage to a Portugal citizen: in this case, it is required to be married or in a registered partnership for at least 3 years.
Before applying for citizenship by naturalisation, a foreigner has to reside in Portugal. There are multiple ways to do so. For instance, investors can get residency permits by purchasing real estate or local fund units.
Other ways include working for a Portuguese company, studying in a local university, or providing sufficient passive or remote income.
Generally, it takes foreigners 5+ years to obtain citizenship by naturalisation.
People marrying a Portuguese national will be able to get their passport after 3 years of marriage.
The Portugal passport allows its holder to travel visa-free to 188 countries, making it the 5th strongest passport in the world.
Yes, foreigners who don’t have relatives in Portugal can obtain citizenship by naturalisation. It’s available to those who have been lawfully residing in the country for at least five years.
There are different ways to move to Portugal and obtain a residency permit, including the investment path, working, or studying there.
It takes five years of residency in Portugal for a foreigner to become eligible for citizenship by naturalisation. Once they file their application, the processing of it will take from 6 to 12 months.
Faster naturalisation is available only to life partners of Portuguese nationals. For them, the requirement is at least 3 years of marriage or registered partnership with a citizen. However, the application processing can take up to 2 years.
Yes, Portugal allows its citizens to hold passports of other countries. A person acquiring a Portugal passport won’t have to give up any other passports, even if they already have more than one citizenship.
Evgeniya Morozova