Portugal has new rules for citizenship, and they are already in force. Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 took effect on May 19, 2026, making it the most significant change to Portugal’s Nationality Law in over a decade.
The main effect: most applicants for naturalization now need 10 years of legal residence in Portugal before applying, up from 5, and 7 years for CPLP and EU nationals, counted from the date your first residence permit was issued. The law also closed the Sephardic-descent citizenship route to new applicants.
If you hold a Golden Visa, live in Portugal on a D7 Visa, or are planning a move, these changes affect how long your path to citizenship takes, not your right to live and work in Portugal today.
This article breaks down exactly what changed, when each change took effect, who it affects, and what it means depending on your situation.
Portuguese Nationality Law: Key Takeaways
Portuguese Nationality Law: How it Works
Portugal’s rules for citizenship are set out in the Portuguese Nationality Law (Law No. 37/81, as amended), which works alongside the Civil Code and is managed by the Central Registry Office.
In the last ten years, the law has changed several times, with major updates in 2018, 2020, 2023, and 2026. Broadly speaking, there are two categories for the granting of Portuguese citizenship:
- Original nationality, such as by birth or descent
- Acquired nationality through naturalization, marriage, or adoption
Each citizenship path is governed by distinct laws and requirements. For example, holders of the Portugal Golden Visa or the Portugal D7 Visa can apply for citizenship through naturalization after 10 years of legal residence in Portugal (7 years for CPLP or EU nationals), up from the previous 5-year requirement.
However, there is no residency requirement for citizenship by descent.
Especially important for expat residents transitioning to citizenship through naturalization, the Constitution ensures that once naturalized, a new citizen stands on a constitutionally equal footing with a citizen by birth.
The foundation of the Portuguese Nationality Law has remained unchanged, but the residency requirements and a set of additional conditions have been updated.
What Changed in 2026: The Dated Timeline
Portugal’s Nationality Law (Law No. 37/81) has been amended several times since it was first enacted, including updates in 2018, 2020, 2023, and 2024.
The 2026 reform is the most significant of these changes, and it followed a specific legislative path worth knowing if you’re tracking how settled the current rules are:
- October 2025: Parliament approved an initial version of the amendments.
- December 2025: Portugal’s Constitutional Court found four of the seven contested provisions unconstitutional. It upheld the core 10-year residency requirement and the rule that the residency clock starts from the date your first residence permit is issued.
- April 1, 2026: Parliament revised and re-approved the amended text with a two-thirds majority.
- May 3, 2026: The President promulgated the law.
- May 18, 2026: The law was published in the Diário da República as Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 (n.º 95/2026, Series I).
- May 19, 2026: The law entered into force.
New Requirements in Detail
Residency time
The naturalization residency requirement increased from 5 years to 10 years for most nationalities, and from 5 years to 7 years for CPLP and EU nationals. This applies to applications for Portuguese citizenship filed from May 19, 2026 onward.
Residency time is counted from the date your first residence permit was issued, not from the date you filed your citizenship application.
Language and integration
You still need to demonstrate A2-level Portuguese if you are not from a Portuguese-speaking country. In addition to that, the 2026 law adds civic-knowledge requirements covering Portuguese culture, history, and fundamental principles. The exact testing format is still being defined.
Criminal record
The 2026 law also tightens the criminal-record rules that apply to naturalization applicants, with cases assessed by the Public Prosecutor. We’ll update this section with the exact threshold once the final wording is confirmed against the law text.
Birthright citizenship
The 2026 law tightened the conditions for children born in Portugal to acquire citizenship at birth, including minimum periods of prior legal residence for their parents. The child must also be enrolled in, and regularly attending, compulsory schooling.
Sephardic-descent route: closed to new applicants
Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 closed the Sephardic-descent citizenship route to new applications. This route, in place since 2015, allowed descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled from Portugal to apply for citizenship without a residency requirement. It is no longer accepting new filings as of May 19, 2026.
Applications submitted before the law took effect continue to be processed under the previous rules. How the registries handle each pending case in practice follows guidance still being issued by the IRN.
Who is affected by the changes in Portugal’s Nationality Law?
01/ Non-EU residents who don’t qualify for citizenship yet
If you’re a non-EU resident planning to become a Portuguese citizen, the new rules affect you the most. Under the previous rule, you could apply after 5 years of legal residence. Now, you need 10 years before you can apply.
This is a significant shift for retirees on the Portugal D7 Visa, investors in the Portugal Golden Visa scheme, and skilled workers, since it changes how you plan your timeline for citizenship in Portugal.
02/ EU and CPLP citizens who haven’t applied for citizenship yet
Citizens from European Union countries and the CPLP bloc are also affected, though the change is smaller.
The residency requirement for citizenship rose from 5 to 7 years for this group. It’s still shorter than the 10-year rule that applies to other nationalities, but the previous 5-year option is no longer available.
03/ People who are already in the citizenship application process
If you filed your citizenship application on or before May 18, 2026, you continue under the previous 5-year rule. Your case is not reassessed under the new 10-year or 7-year requirements.
If you had reached 5 years of legal residence but had not yet filed by that date, you now fall under the new residency requirement. The distinction that matters is your filing date, not the date you first became eligible under the old rule.
04/ Children born in Portugal
Families should also be aware of changes affecting children born in Portugal. The 2026 law tightened the residency conditions parents must meet before their child can acquire citizenship at birth, and added a schooling requirement for the child.
Is the new law already in force?
Yes. Portugal’s new Nationality Law has been in force since May 19, 2026.
Parliament first approved changes to the law in October 2025. In December 2025, Portugal’s Constitutional Court found four of the seven contested provisions unconstitutional, while upholding the core 10-year residency requirement and the rule that the residency clock starts when your first residence permit is issued.
Parliament revised and re-approved the amended text on April 1, 2026, with a two-thirds majority. The President promulgated the law on May 3, 2026. It was published in the Diário da República (n.º 95/2026, Series I) on May 18, 2026, and entered into force the following day, May 19, 2026, as Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026.
The law does not just add new requirements. It also republishes the full text of the underlying Nationality Law (Law No. 37/81) with those changes incorporated, so the 10-year and 7-year residency periods, the additional integration requirements, and the closure of the Sephardic-descent route are now settled law rather than proposals.
Does it apply for pending citizenship applications?
The transition rule is now settled: it depends on when you filed, not on how long you had already lived in Portugal.
If you filed your citizenship application with the IRN on or before May 18, 2026, you continue under the previous 5-year residency rule. Your case is not affected by the new law.
If you file from May 19, 2026 onward, the new rules apply, including the longer residency requirement. This is true even if you had already reached 5 years of legal residence before that date but had not yet filed. The Constitutional Court’s protection covers applications that were already filed, not eligibility you had accrued but not acted on.
This distinction traces back to the law’s legislative history. When Parliament first approved the amendments in October 2025, the Constitutional Court reviewed the draft in December 2025 and found some provisions unconstitutional, in part because of how they would have applied to people already in the system.
Parliament revised the law to address this, and the version that took effect on May 19, 2026 reflects that settled transition rule rather than the earlier, contested one.
If you are unsure which rule applies to your situation, the filing date on your application is the deciding factor, not the date you first met the old residency requirement.
Does this affect permanent residency?
Residency in Portugal and citizenship are governed by separate laws. So, no, the recent changes to Portugal’s Nationality Law do not directly affect permanent residency.
The Constitutional Court decision and the parliamentary amendments did not alter the five-year threshold for permanent residence, and the law remains the same.
You can still apply for permanent residence after five years of legal stay, as long as you meet the requirements, like proving basic A2-level Portuguese language proficiency, having sufficient financial means, having no severe criminal convictions, and showing proof of accommodation.
In short, the main change is that it now takes longer to go from permanent residency to citizenship.
Does this change the Portugal Golden Visa?
If you hold a Golden Visa, your residency rights stay the same. The 2026 law only affects the rules for getting Portuguese citizenship, not the laws that cover residence permits.
The Golden Visa program is still in place. You can keep renewing your residence permit, meet the stay requirements, travel in the Schengen Area, and bring family members under the same rules as before. The same applies to D7 Visa and other D-Visa holders. There are no plans to remove or limit these residency options.
What changed is the citizenship timeline, and the clock-start date depends on timing relative to the law’s publication:
- If you paid your Golden Visa application fees before the law was published on May 18, 2026, your citizenship clock runs from the date you paid those fees.
- If you paid after that date, your citizenship clock starts from the date your first residence card was issued.
This distinction matters because it determines how much of your existing timeline counts toward the new 10-year requirement.
Timeline for non-EU/CPLP Portugal Golden Visa holders
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