The Council of Ministers adopted the decree-law that puts the amended Nationality Law fully into practice. Its text is not yet public, it still needs the President's signature, and pending applications stay under the old rules.
The registry institute had 690,480 nationality files pending on 30 June, up 38 percent in a year; 26 percent are residence-based applications from immigrants. Files lodged before 19 May are judged under the old five-year rule. How to follow yours online.
Who can join the free state Portuguese course, where it runs, how to enrol, the levels, and what the A2 certificate counts for after the 2026 law.
A draft decree-law rewrites the pay scales for conservadores and oficiais de registos in three steps from 2025 to 2027. It arrives while the conservatórias carry a backlog that grew 13 percent in a month and a company-formation service that now takes months.
A decree making loss of nationality an accessory penalty for grave crimes is heading for rejection again. The Constitutional Court struck it down as discriminatory, the President refused to promulgate, and Parliament lacks the two-thirds majority to override. Chega threatens a referendum.
How many years of legal residence you need, which rules cover your application, the language proof, the documents, the €250 fee, and how to apply.
President Seguro signed the new Lei da Nacionalidade on 3 May 2026, doubling naturalisation residency to 10 years for non-EU/CPLP applicants, raising it to 7 years for EU and CPLP citizens, and tightening birth-right citizenship to a 5-year parental residency test.
