The much-awaited amendments to Portuguese Citizenship Law were published in March (Organic Law 1/2024, of March 5th), and the changes are worth noting.
To apply for Portuguese citizenship based on residency, one needs to have lived in Portugal for at least 5 years within the last 15 years. Initially, this 5-year period was calculated from the date the first temporary residence card was issued. However, over time, periods spent in Portugal under residence and temporary stay visas started counting towards the total 5-year requirement.
The new wording of Article 15 now establishes that time spent waiting for the residence permit application to be approved can also count towards the residency period, as long as the application is approved in the end. This is particularly good news for those who applied for Golden Visas or submitted Expressions of Interest, procedures typically without a visa stage, and who are currently waiting 2-3 years for their applications to be processed.
To illustrate the impact of these changes, let us consider an example: someone who applied for a Golden Visa in January 2021 may now become eligible for citizenship in January 2026, even if their residence permit is issued in 2024.
However, there is still some uncertainty about how this change will be implemented in practice, since the Regulatory Decree, which provides detailed guidelines on how the law will be applied, has not been approved yet.
From a legal perspective, the Portuguese Immigration Authority (AIMA) considers the Golden Visa application effective from the appointment date, which currently can be at least 1.5 years after submission. Therefore, questions remain about whether decisions will be based on the date of application submission or the date of biometric data collection appointments.
While the interpretation of the law is still to be clarified, this amendment is nonetheless positive news for many applicants, as it will most certainly reduce the waiting time for eligibility to apply for Portuguese citizenship.
For further information or assistance, feel free to reach out to us at geral@sbpslegal.com.