TL;DR: Portugal’s nationality law allows non-EU expats to apply for citizenship after 5 years of legal residency. Requirements include a basic Portuguese language test (A2 level), a clean criminal record, and demonstrated ties to Portugal. Children born in Portugal to legal residents have a simplified path. The 2024 reforms expanded eligibility for descendants of Portuguese nationals — if you have Portuguese ancestry, consult a specialist as this route may apply to you.
Portugal’s citizenship rules changed significantly in 2026. If you’re a family planning to stay long-term in Portugal, this directly affects your timeline. Here’s what happened, what it means in practice, and what families should do now.
⚠️ This article covers a fast-moving legal situation. The new Nationality Law was approved by parliament in April 2026 and promulgated by the President in May 2026. It has not yet been published in the Diário da República at time of writing — exact implementation date TBC. Always verify current status with a Portuguese immigration lawyer.
What Changed: The Headline
The residency requirement to apply for Portuguese citizenship has increased from 5 years to 10 years for most non-EU nationals. For EU citizens and nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries (CPLP — Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, East Timor), the requirement is 7 years.
This is the most significant change to Portuguese nationality law in decades.
Who Is Affected
Most affected: Non-EU, non-CPLP nationals — this includes British families (post-Brexit), American families, Canadian families, and others on D7 or D8 visas. Their citizenship timeline doubles from 5 to 10 years.
Moderately affected: EU citizens (Irish, German, French, etc.) — timeline increases from 5 to 7 years.
CPLP nationals: Also 7 years.
Not affected — permanent residency: The 5-year path to permanent residency is unchanged. This is important. Permanent residency gives you the right to live and work in Portugal indefinitely. Citizenship — with a Portuguese passport and full EU citizenship rights — now takes longer, but the first major milestone of stable, long-term legal status is still at 5 years.
What About People Already Living in Portugal?
This is the question every expat family is asking. The answer is nuanced:
If you already submitted a citizenship application before the law took effect: Your application is processed under the old rules (5-year requirement). Article 7 of the new law protects pending applications.
If you haven’t applied yet but have been living in Portugal: Your accumulated residency time still counts — the clock didn’t reset. But you’ll need to reach the new threshold (10 or 7 years) before applying. A family who arrived in 2022 and planned to apply for citizenship in 2027 now faces a 2032 timeline instead.
Important — when your clock starts: Residency time is counted from when your initial residency permit was issued, not when you applied for it. This distinction matters — processing delays don’t add to your qualifying time.
Other Changes in the New Law
Children born in Portugal: The rules tightened. A child born in Portugal to foreign parents now acquires citizenship at birth only if the parents have been legal residents for at least 4 years before the birth (3 years for CPLP nationals). Previously, 1 year of residence sufficed. For families planning to have children in Portugal, this is a meaningful change.
Language requirement: You still need A2-level Portuguese. But a new requirement has been added — a test on Portuguese culture, history, and basic rights. This is in addition to the language assessment.
Criminal record threshold: The threshold for criminal record issues affecting citizenship applications has been tightened — convictions carrying sentences of 3+ years (previously 5 years) for serious crimes now affect eligibility.
Sephardic Jewish descent pathway: This route to citizenship — which allowed people to apply based on Sephardic ancestry — has been closed under the new law.
When Does This Take Effect?
Parliament approved the amendments in April 2026. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa promulgated the law in May 2026. However, the law does not take effect until it is published in the Diário da República — which typically happens within 30 days of presidential approval. Verify current status directly with AIMA or an immigration lawyer.
What This Means for Families Planning to Move to Portugal
For families considering a move to Portugal for quality of life, schools, safety, and cost of living — this change doesn’t affect the fundamental case for moving. Portugal’s day-to-day quality of life, the D7 visa route, the 5-year permanent residency path — none of that changed.
What changed is the citizenship timeline for families hoping to obtain a Portuguese passport and full EU citizenship. For British families especially, this was often a significant part of the long-term appeal — moving to Portugal as a path back to EU citizenship post-Brexit. That path now takes 10 years instead of 5.
For families where EU citizenship was a primary motivator, this is a meaningful setback and worth factoring into the decision. For families whose primary motivation is lifestyle, safety, schools, and cost of living — Portugal’s case is unchanged.
Our Honest Take
This was an unwelcome surprise for many long-term expat residents who built their lives in Portugal around a publicly communicated 5-year pathway. The reaction in the expat community has been frustrated — and understandably so. Moving countries involves a significant act of faith in the stability of rules.
That said: permanent residency at 5 years remains, and it provides most of the practical stability families need — the right to live, work, and raise children in Portugal indefinitely. Citizenship and a Portuguese passport take longer now, but the foundations of daily life in Portugal are not affected.
For legal advice specific to your situation — particularly if you have an application in progress or are close to the old 5-year threshold — speak to a Portuguese immigration lawyer. See our immigration lawyers guide.
This article covers a fast-moving legal situation as of May 2026. The law is not yet in force pending publication in the Diário da República. Always verify current status with AIMA or a licensed Portuguese immigration lawyer before making decisions.
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