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Getting Portuguese Citizenship by Naturalisation

Who can become Portuguese after living here, the new 7 and 10 year rules, the language proof, the documents, the €250 fee, and how to apply.

Getting Portuguese Citizenship by Naturalisation

Last verified: September 2026.

Who this is for

  • Foreign residents, EU or non-EU, who live legally in Portugal and want Portuguese citizenship.
  • Anyone who applied before 19 May 2026 and wants to know which rules cover their application.
  • Residents planning ahead, who need to know when their years of residence add up.

Not for you if: you want to stay long term without becoming Portuguese. Read "Getting Permanent Residence in Portugal" instead. If your child was born here, start with "Registering a Birth in Portugal".

Updated September 2026. A new nationality law took effect on 19 May 2026. You now need 7 or 10 years of legal residence, not 5, unless you applied before that date.

Naturalisation is how a foreign adult becomes Portuguese after living here legally for long enough. If you are from an EU country or a Portuguese-speaking country, you now need 7 years of legal residence. Everyone else needs 10. You also need to prove your Portuguese, a clean enough criminal record, and that you can support yourself.

The application costs €250 and goes to the registry service (IRN), not to the immigration agency (AIMA). Decisions currently take years, not months. Portugal allows dual nationality, so you do not have to give up your current passport.

Which rules apply to you

The date your application reached the registry decides which rules apply.

  • If you applied on or before 18 May 2026, the old rules apply to your application. That means 5 years of legal residence, the old language proof, and the old criminal record test. The registry has said the date that counts is the date you submitted the application.
  • If you apply on or after 19 May 2026, the new rules apply in full.

Nothing you do now can move an application into the old rules. If yours is already filed, keep it. Withdrawing and applying again would put you under the new rules.

The new law went through a long process. Parliament first approved a version in 2025. In December 2025 the Constitutional Court struck out four parts, including a rule that would have applied the new requirements to applications already filed. Parliament approved a revised version on 1 April 2026. It was published on 18 May 2026 and took effect the next day.

How many years you need

The rule depends on your nationality.

Your nationalityYears of legal residence neededAll years must fall within
EU country or Portuguese-speaking country (CPLP)79 years
Any other country1012 years
Stateless46 years

The Portuguese-speaking countries are Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Timor-Leste.

How the years are counted:

  • Only legal residence counts. That means time in Portugal while you held a valid residence visa, residence permit, or other status that the immigration or asylum rules recognise. If you are an EU citizen, your EU registration certificate (CRUE) counts.
  • Waiting time no longer counts. Under the old rules, the clock started on the day you applied for your first residence permit, as long as it was granted. The new law removed that. If you waited two years for AIMA to issue your first card, those two years may not count for a new application.
  • Gaps are allowed, within a limit. You can add up separate periods of legal residence. But all of them must fall within 9 years (EU and Portuguese-speaking countries) or 12 years (everyone else). A long gap can push early years outside that window.
  • The count is taken on the day you apply. You must meet every requirement on that day. Apply even one day early and your application can be refused.

Keep every residence permit card, including expired ones, and every AIMA receipt. They are how you prove each period.

What else you must show

If you apply under the new rules, the law requires all of the following on the day you apply:

  1. You are 18 or over.
  2. You have the years of legal residence in the table above.
  3. You know enough Portuguese, and enough about Portuguese culture, history, and national symbols. You prove this by a test or a certificate.
  4. You know enough about the basic rights and duties of a Portuguese citizen and how the Portuguese state is organised.
  5. You make a formal declaration that you accept the basic principles of a democratic state under the rule of law.
  6. You have not been sentenced, by a final judgment, to more than 3 years of actual prison for terrorism, violent or organised crime, crimes against state security, or helping illegal immigration.
  7. You are not a danger to national security or defence.
  8. You are not subject to UN or EU sanctions.
  9. You can support yourself financially.

If you are from a Portuguese-speaking country, the law presumes you speak Portuguese. The registry can still ask for proof if it is obvious you do not.

If you have a criminal conviction that might count, the registry sends the question to the Public Prosecutor. The prosecutor weighs the sentence, the type of crime, how long ago it happened, and how well you are integrated. If the prosecutor decides against you, you can ask a court to review it.

The new tests are not ready yet

The law gave the government 90 days, until mid August 2026, to write the detailed rules. These cover how you prove culture, history, rights and duties, and self-sufficiency, and how you make the declaration. When we checked in September 2026, those rules had not been published. The registry's own pages still say they are being updated.

What this means for you:

  • If you qualify under the new rules, you can still apply, but nobody can yet tell you exactly which tests or certificates the registry will accept for the new requirements.
  • A Portuguese language certificate at A2 level remains the best evidence you can get now. It is very likely to stay part of the proof.
  • Check the registry's nationality pages before you apply. We will update this guide when the rules appear.

How to prove your Portuguese

Under the rules in force for language, these are the usual ways to prove your level. You need at least A2, the second level of the European language scale. A2 means you can handle simple everyday conversations, read short texts, and fill in forms.

  • The CIPLE exam. This is the A2 exam run by the University of Lisbon's Portuguese testing centre (CAPLE). You can sit it at exam centres in Portugal and abroad on set dates each year. See "Portuguese Language Exams CIPLE, DEPLE, and DIPLE" for dates and how to register.
  • A free Portuguese for newcomers course (Português Língua de Acolhimento). These courses run at public schools, public employment service (IEFP) training centres, and Qualifica centres. A certificate at A2 or higher counts as proof of Portuguese for nationality. You need a residence permit, proof you have applied for one, or a social security number (NISS) to enrol. AIMA's language team can tell you where the nearest course is: [email protected].
  • Portuguese schooling. A certificate from a Portuguese school showing you studied there can also prove your level.

Book early. Exam dates are limited and courses fill up.

Documents you need

The registry's naturalisation form lists these documents. Check the form again when you apply, because it may change once the new rules are published.

  • The application form for naturalisation by residence, filled in by hand in capital letters or on screen, and signed.
  • Your full birth certificate. If it was issued abroad, it must carry an apostille or consular legalisation.
  • Proof of your Portuguese.
  • Criminal record certificates from your country of birth, your country of nationality, and every country you lived in from age 16. Each needs an apostille or legalisation where that applies.
  • A certified copy of your passport or residence permit.
  • If someone applies for you, a power of attorney with special powers for this application.

You do not need to supply a Portuguese criminal record certificate. Tick the box on the form and the registry gets it directly.

Documents in English, French, or Spanish do not need a translation unless the registry asks for one. Anything in another language needs a certified translation. See "Getting an Apostille or Consular Legalisation in Portugal" and "Getting a Certified Translation in Portugal".

For the years of residence, bring copies of every residence permit or registration certificate you have held. For the new self-sufficiency and integration requirements, it is sensible to keep payslips, tax returns, social security records, and your tenancy or deed ready, even before the registry says exactly what it wants.

How to apply

  1. Check your dates. Count your years of legal residence from your permit cards. Make sure all of them fall within the 9 or 12 year window.
  2. Get your language proof. Sit the CIPLE exam or finish an A2 course.
  3. Order your foreign documents. Get your birth certificate and foreign criminal record certificates, with apostilles and translations. Foreign criminal record certificates are usually only accepted for a few months after issue, so order them last.
  4. Fill in the form. Use the naturalisation by residence form from the registry's forms page. Your signature must be certified in person, for example by a notary, unless you sign in front of registry staff when you hand it in.
  5. Pay the €250 fee. How you pay depends on how you apply (see below).
  6. Submit the application. You have three options: - By registered post to the Central Registry Office (Conservatória dos Registos Centrais), Rua Rodrigo da Fonseca 200, 1099-003 Lisboa, or to any nationality desk (Balcão da Nacionalidade). - In person at a nationality desk. These are in Lisbon, at the Porto central archive, and in some civil registry offices. The justice portal lists them. - Online through a lawyer or solicitor. The online nationality service is only open to lawyers and solicitors, who must use it. You cannot apply online yourself with your digital mobile key.
  7. Keep your access code. When your application is logged, the registry emails you a code. Use it on the justice portal to follow your case.
  8. Answer any request quickly. The registry may ask for more documents. It may also collect your fingerprints and photograph to confirm your identity.

What it costs

  • Application fee: €250. If you post your application, pay by card on the registry's payment page. You can also send a banker's draft or certified cheque in euros, made out to the Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado, I. P. At a desk you can also pay in cash or by Multibanco card. Personal cheques are refused.
  • Language exam or course. The CIPLE exam has a fee set by CAPLE; check it when you register. Portuguese for newcomers courses are free.
  • Foreign documents. Apostilles, criminal record certificates, and translations are charged by the issuing country and the translator.
  • A lawyer or solicitor, only if you choose to use one.

Some applicants pay nothing. The procedure is free for children born in Portugal, stateless people, and children in state care.

How long it takes

There is no reliable official waiting time. The registry faces a very large backlog. In April 2026 the registry workers' union put it at around 600,000 pending nationality applications. Applications filed on paper are handled in order, and many take two years or more before anyone looks at them.

You can follow your case online with your access code. The status page shows four stages:

  1. Submitted: your application is logged.
  2. Under review: the registry checks your documents, the legal requirements, and replies from other bodies such as the police.
  3. For decision: a decision is being issued.
  4. Completed: you have been registered as Portuguese, or the application was refused and closed.

You can also check by phone on the Registry Line, +351 211 950 500, or at a nationality desk.

When you are approved

You become Portuguese when the registry records your naturalisation in the civil register. There is no ceremony. Once registered, you can:

  • Apply for a citizen card (Cartão de Cidadão), which replaces your residence permit.
  • Apply for a Portuguese passport.
  • Vote in all Portuguese elections once you are on the electoral roll.
  • Live and work anywhere in the EU as an EU citizen.

Portuguese law lets you keep your other nationality. Check your home country's law, because some countries take away their nationality if you acquire another one.

If you are refused

The registry must refuse an application that is missing a required statement or document. You can then apply again with a complete file and a new fee.

If you disagree with a refusal, you can challenge it in court. Nationality decisions go to the administrative courts, and you will normally need a lawyer. If your refusal is based on a criminal conviction, you can ask a court to set that finding aside.

Other routes to citizenship

Naturalisation by residence is not the only route. You may have a faster one if:

  • You are married to a Portuguese citizen, for more than 3 years. You apply by declaration while still married.
  • You live with a Portuguese partner in a registered or de facto union, for more than 3 years, and a court has recognised the union.
  • Your child was born in Portugal and one parent had lived here legally for at least 5 years at the time of the application. The child must also attend school where that applies.
  • You are a great grandchild of a Portuguese citizen by origin and have lived here legally for at least 5 years.
  • You are a grandchild of a Portuguese citizen by origin with real ties to Portugal. This is a claim to citizenship by origin, with its own rules.
  • You are stateless and have lived here legally for at least 4 years.

The route for descendants of Sephardic Jews has been abolished. Applications filed before 19 May 2026 are decided under the old rules.

Sources

Last verified September 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.

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