Nacionality, Foreigners and National Foreigners and Borders Unit

On June the 23rd, 2025, the Council of Ministers approved four legislative proposals relating to nationality, foreigners, the creation of a foreigners and borders unit and residence permits.

The proposals presented still have a legislative path to follow and will not enter into force immediately.

The main changes proposed are the following:

Nationality

1. Regarding the attribution of nationality to the descendants of foreigners residing in national territory, it is now required that the parents have been legally resident for three years and only if the wish for the child to be Portuguese is expressed;
2. Regarding the attribution of nationality to foreigners residing in national territory, there will now be a seven-year time period for citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries and a ten-year time period for citizens of other countries, with this period starting to run from the moment the residence permit is obtained;
3. Requirement of sufficient knowledge of the duties and rights of Portuguese citizens and of the country’s political organization, proven through tests;
4. Requirement that, when applying for naturalization, a solemn declaration of adherence to the fundamental principles of the democratic rule of law be made;
5. Making it impossible to naturalize those who have been sentenced to actual prison time;
6. Extinction of the extraordinary naturalization regime for Portuguese Sephardic Jews;
7. Restriction of naturalization by Portuguese ancestry, limiting it to the great-grandchildren of Portuguese citizens;
8. Determining the loss of nationality for citizens who have been naturalized for less time as an accessory sanction, always decreed by a judge, for highly serious crimes in which effective imprisonment of five years or more has been sentenced;

Foreigners Act

9. Visas for entry without a contract or promise of work remain only for highly qualified candidates;
10. Regarding family reunification:

• • Two years of legal residence for this right to be exercised;
  • Restriction of the request for reunification of persons in national territory to minors, with adults having to request it outside national territory and be subject to approval by the Portuguese authorities;
  • Accommodation and means of subsistence must be adequate, excluding social benefits;
  • The obligation to provide integration measures for families, namely language learning and compulsory education for minors;
  • Possibility of rejection for reasons of public order, safety and public health;

11. Elimination of the tacit approval rule;
12. With regard to CPLP visas, an opinion from the border unit of the Internal Security System is now required;
13. With regard to CPLP residence permits, it will be limited to those who have a residence visa, and it will no longer be possible to apply for them on national territory with a tourist visa or visa exemption;

UNEF

14. Creation of the National Foreigners and Borders Unit in the PSP;

Extension of Documents

15. Extension until October 15th of the documents that have been successively extended.

Despite possible attempts to bring forward the effects of the legislative changes in question, the rule is to establish a transitional regime that safeguards the legal certainty and legitimate expectations of citizens who intended to benefit from a given legal regime that was subsequently changed.

It should be noted that, similarly, at the time of the changes to the Golden Visa, the XXIII Constitutional Government also initially considered the possibility of admitting only new applications for a residence permit for the purpose of exercising an investment activity made until February 16th, 2023, an idea that was abandoned as soon as the Draft Law was presented, which allowed new applications to be submitted until the date of entry into force of the law in question.

Therefore, despite the need to act, it is important to wait, without alarm, for the government’s next steps.