Portuguese Nationality
Portuguese nationality by attribution
According to Article 1, paragraph 1 of the Nationality Law, are Portuguese by origin:
According to paragraphs 2 and 3 of the same article:
"Presumed born in Portuguese territory, unless proven otherwise, newborns who have been exposed here."
“The verification of the existence of effective links with the national community, for the purposes established in paragraph d) of paragraph 1, implies the recognition, by the Government, of the relevance of such links, namely by the sufficient knowledge of the Portuguese language and by the existence of regular contacts with the Portuguese territory, and depends on non-conviction, with final judgment of the sentence, for the practice of a crime punishable by a maximum prison sentence of 3 years or more, according to Portuguese law. ”
Portuguese nationality by acquisition
- The Nationality Law, under the terms of art. 6, nº 7, started to allow the acquisition of nationality by the descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews, who through the demonstration of the tradition of belonging to a Sephardic community of Portuguese origin, based on proven objective requirements of connection to Portugal, namely nicknames , family language, direct or collateral descent, as long as they are older or emancipated under Portuguese law and have not been convicted, with final judgment of the sentence, for committing a crime punishable by a maximum prison sentence of three years or more , according to Portuguese law, they can apply for Portuguese nationality. The first step by interested parties is to request the Certificate of the Portuguese Jewish Community proving this descent.
- In the absence of the Certificate issued by the Jewish Community, under the terms mentioned above, the following can be admitted as evidence:
- Authenticated document, issued by the Jewish Community to which the applicant belongs, attesting to the use of Portuguese expressions in Jewish rites or, as a language spoken by you within that community, Ladino;
- Authenticated documentary records (for example: records of Jewish synagogues and cemeteries, residence titles, property titles, wills and other evidence of family connection in the collateral line of common parent from the Sephardic Community of Portuguese origin).
- In case of doubt about the authenticity of the content of the documents identified above, issued abroad, the Ministry of Justice of Portugal may request the Jewish Community with the status of a religious legal person, based in Portugal, to provide an opinion on such evidence.
- The following requirements are not required: residency in Portugal and knowledge of the Portuguese language. This means that even if the person concerned does not reside in Portugal or does not speak Portuguese, he / she may acquire Portuguese nationality due to naturalization.
Special situations of acquisition of nationality
Foreign women married to Portuguese citizens before the current Nationality Law came into effect acquired and can still acquire Portuguese nationality.
Law 37/81, of 3 October (Nationality Law) enters into force:
- In Mainland Portugal - 8/10/1981
- In the Açores and Madeira - 13/10/1981
- Abroad - 11/2/1981
- In Macau - 11/21/1981
Angola, Moçambique, Cabo Verde, São Tomé e Príncipe and Guiné-Bissau
Decree-Law No. 308-A / 75, of 24 June, which regulated the process of losing nationality of Portuguese citizens domiciled in overseas territories, established the situations in which those citizens would retain or lose Portuguese nationality.
It follows that their descendants enjoy specific legal diplomas that may lead to the acquisition or even the reacquisition of Portuguese nationality, whose situations must be carefully analyzed in the light of the application of the law in time and space.
We analyze each situation individually on the possibility of acquiring or reacquiring Portuguese nationality.
According to the Portuguese legislation that has been enacted, citizens born in the territory of the former Portuguese State of India, more precisely in the territories of Goa, Damão, Diu, Dadrá and Nagar Aveli until December 20, 1961 are Portuguese citizens.
These territories were integrated into the Republic of India in December 1961, but citizens born in the above territories legally remained Portuguese until the time when the integration of those territories in the Indian Union was officially recognized by the Treaty of 12/31/1974, approved for ratification by Decree No. 206/75 of 17-4.
Thus, those born up to that date are considered Portuguese citizens, as long as they prove this quality by integrating their birth records into the Portuguese civil registry.