Portuguese citizenship

The Nationality Law (Law no. 37/81 of 3 October) was amended by Organic Law no. 1/2026 of 18 May, which came into force the day after publication, 19 May 2026. The Ministry of Justice describes the change as tightening the requirements for naturalisation, and the sections below set out what that means. This guide reads the republished text in the Diário da República. Where a number belongs to one regime only, it says which.

Which regime applies to you

Article 7 of Organic Law no. 1/2026 has two rules on timing:

• the law takes effect from its entry into force;
• the earlier wording of the Nationality Law applies to administrative procedures pending on that date.

The Justice news item sums it up the same way: the new rules apply to applications submitted after 19 May 2026, and pending ones follow the earlier law. This guide describes the current wording only. If your application predates that day, the rules it depends on are in the earlier wording, which is not detailed here: ask at the counter where you submitted it.

Article 4 required the Government to revise the Portuguese Nationality Regulation within 90 days. The official Justice and Diário da República pages used for this guide do not confirm that the revision has been published. Check the format of the tests and the amounts payable at the counter or on the Justice website before you act.

Naturalisation of adults: what the law requires

Under article 6(1), the Government grants nationality to people who, at the time of the application, meet all of the following at once:

1. Adulthood, under Portuguese law.
2. Legal residence for at least seven years, for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and citizens of EU Member States, or ten years for nationals of other countries.
3. Proof, by test or certificate, of sufficient knowledge of the Portuguese language and culture, history and national symbols.
4. Sufficient knowledge of the fundamental rights and duties attached to Portuguese nationality and of the State’s political organisation.
5. A solemn declaration of adherence to the fundamental principles of a democratic State governed by the rule of law.
6. No final conviction to an effective prison sentence of more than 3 years for terrorism, violent and especially violent crime, highly organised crime, crimes against State security or aiding illegal immigration.
7. Not being a danger or threat to national security or defence.
8. Not being subject to restrictive measures approved by the UN or the EU.
9. The means to support yourself.

Rectification Declaration no. 17/2026/1 corrected article 6(11), the paragraph on proving there is no conviction, which read “2 years or more” and now reads “effective … more than 3 years”, aligning it with item (f), which already spoke of an effective prison sentence of more than 3 years. The law adds that this requirement is a presumption the Public Prosecutor’s Office can rebut, weighing among other things the sentence imposed, the type of crime, the time elapsed and any repeat offending. If that assessment is requested, the processing of the application is suspended until the Public Prosecutor’s Office or the court decides (article 6(14) to (16)).

Language: what the law says and does not say

The law speaks of a test or certificate and does not state a language level or a certifying body here. Under paragraph 10, nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries are presumed to meet the language part of the item, unless a lack of command of Portuguese, shown by the applicant to the competent services, is manifest. The part on culture, history and symbols still has to be demonstrated. As the regulation that details these tests may still be unpublished, this guide states no exact level.

Criminal record

Under paragraph 11, absence of a conviction is proved with criminal record certificates issued by the Portuguese services and by those of the country of birth, the country of nationality and the countries where you have lived, provided you lived there after reaching the age of criminal responsibility.

How years of legal residence are counted

Article 15 defines two things.

What residing legally means (paragraph 1): being in Portugal with your situation regularised with the Portuguese authorities under any of the titles, visas or authorisations provided for in the rules on entry, stay, exit and removal of foreigners and in the asylum regime. The text does not limit the count to one type of title. Paragraph 2 also preserves the special regimes of legal residence that arise from binding treaties or agreements, in particular within the European Union and the CPLP.

How periods are added up (paragraph 3): all periods of legal residence count, consecutive or not, as long as they fall within a maximum span of 6, 9 or 12 years, depending on whether the person is stateless, a national of a Portuguese-speaking country or a citizen of an EU Member State, or a national of another country. In practice, for an adult covered by item (b), the seven or ten years have to fit inside that nine- or twelve-year window.

None of these provisions fixes the start of the count at the issue of the first title or at any other specific date: the test is having a regularised situation. If someone gives you a more precise rule on the start date, ask which article it comes from or confirm it at the counter. Keep your titles, visas and the proof for each period so you can show legal residence. For the history of titles, see the guide to the residence permit.

Other situations with their own rules

These are not the adult naturalisation numbers; each provision has its own:

• Minors born in Portugal to foreign parents (article 6(2)): one parent has resided legally for at least five years, the minor is enrolled in and regularly attending compulsory schooling where applicable, and, if of the age of criminal responsibility, meets items (e) to (h) of paragraph 1.
• Attribution to people born in Portugal (article 1(1)(f)): the child of foreigners may declare that they want to be Portuguese if, at birth, one parent had been legally resident for at least five years.
• Stateless persons (paragraph 3): legal residence for at least four years and items (c) to (h).
• Third-degree direct-line descendants of original Portuguese nationals (paragraph 8): with item (b) of paragraph 1 waived, provided they have had legal residence for at least five years. Attribution of original nationality to someone with a second-degree ancestor of original Portuguese nationality, by contrast, requires a declaration and effective ties to the national community (article 1(1)(d)), and presupposes meeting items (c) to (h) of article 6(1) (article 1(3)).
• Marriage or de facto union (article 3): married for more than three years to a Portuguese national, by declaration made during the marriage. A de facto union of more than three years depends on a court decision recognising it. In both cases none of the situations in article 6(1)(f) to (h) may apply. The law provides for opposition to acquisition where effective ties to the national community are missing, but there is, as a rule, no opposition if the marriage or union is more than six years old or there are common children with Portuguese nationality (article 9).
• Adoption by a Portuguese national (article 5): nationality is acquired by declaration.

Under article 6(12), the naturalisation procedure for minors born in Portugal, stateless persons and minors taken in by an institution is free of charge. For birth registration and the residence permit of children of foreigners born in Portugal, see the guide on children born in Portugal.

How to submit the application

According to Justice, the online nationality service is for lawyers and solicitors registered with their Portuguese professional bodies, who use it with a professional certificate and digital signature. Anyone who is not a lawyer or solicitor can apply by post or at a nationality counter. For a postal application, according to Justice, you complete the request form available on the IRN website, pay by certified cheque, bank cheque in euros or card through the IRN payment platform, and send everything by registered post to a nationality counter. To find a counter, see Where to be served.

The same Justice service says scanned documents must be legible, in PDF, one file per document. Once the application is registered, Justice emails a consultation code, which you use to follow the state of the case online (submitted, under analysis, for decision, completed). Checking is free.

The amounts payable vary with the type of application and are set in the fee regulation for registries and notaries. The Justice pages on applying give no single figure, so confirm the amount before paying.

The law also provides for the collection of biometric data to confirm identity and requirements, done by accredited IRN staff or by the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs, or at self-service terminals in the Espaços Cidadão (article 12-C). If the application is refused, the data are deleted after five years, or after a final court decision annulling the refusal.

Before you apply: a checklist

• Which regime are you under (application before or after 19 May 2026)?
• For your nationality, does the 7-year or the 10-year period apply? Add up your periods of legal residence, bearing in mind the maximum window in article 15(3).
• Do you have criminal record certificates from Portugal, your country of birth, your country of nationality and the countries where you have lived?
• Do you know whether you will prove the language by test or certificate, and how you will show your knowledge of culture, history and symbols?
• Can you prove the means to support yourself?

What about Brazilian citizenship?

Constitutional Amendment no. 131/2023 changed article 12, paragraph 4, of the Brazilian Constitution. Brazilian citizenship is lost if naturalisation is cancelled by court judgment for fraud in the naturalisation process or for an attack on the constitutional order and the democratic State, or if the person makes an express request for loss to the competent Brazilian authority, except where that would cause statelessness. Under the amendment, renouncing does not stop you reacquiring your original Brazilian nationality. Acquiring a second nationality no longer appears among the grounds for loss.

If you are Brazilian, see also the guide to the Equality Statute, which is not citizenship, and the CPLP guide.