"At the end of October 2025, the Portuguese government voted to extend the residency requirement to 10 years before someone could ask for nationality. The residency requirement would be slightly less, seven years, for citizens of other EU states and members of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP)-Brazil, Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, São Tomé and Principe, and Timor-Leste."
"The vote also resets the citizenship timeline for new applicants; the clock starts ticking only when authorities grant a residence permit, not at the point where people submit their applications for residency. In reality, this means it might take another two to three years to complete the process, because that's typically how long it takes to obtain residency in the country."
Portugal currently requires five years of residency to apply for nationality. Proposed amendments would extend the residency requirement to 10 years for most applicants and to seven years for EU citizens and CPLP members. The amendments would start the citizenship clock only when a residence permit is granted, not when a residency application is submitted. Typical waits to obtain residency add roughly two to three years, making effective naturalization timelines about nine to 13 years for many foreigners. The changes were voted and are now under Constitutional Court review, producing uncertainty for Americans, golden visa investors, and digital nomads.
Read at Forbes
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]