A law that doubles the timeline — signed with pointed reservations

Portugal's President António José Seguro promulgated the country's revised Nationality Law on 3 May 2026, ending months of uncertainty over whether he would refer the legislation to the Constitutional Court or send it back to parliament. With promulgation confirmed, the law now awaits publication in the Diário da República before entering into force. No publication date has been announced.

The law passed parliament on 1 April 2026 by a vote of 152 to 64, following a last-minute agreement between the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the far-right Chega party. It is the latest in a sequence of changes that have progressively tightened Portugal's naturalization conditions over the past two years.

What the law changes

For most foreign nationals, the naturalization period doubles from five years to ten. Citizens of European Union member states and Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) nations face a seven-year requirement instead.

A further change concerns how the residency clock is measured. Under the revised rules, the ten-year or seven-year period begins only when the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) formally issues a residence permit — not when an applicant first submits the request. That reverses a 2024 amendment specifically designed to protect applicants from AIMA's well-documented processing backlog.

Given that AIMA has routinely taken two to three years to issue permits, immigration lawyers have estimated the effective naturalization timeline at between nine and thirteen years under the new framework — depending on when in the process an applicant currently sits.

Note: The Golden Visa program was not part of this legislative process. Permanent residency after five years of qualifying investment remains unaffected. The new timelines apply to naturalization only.

Signed — but not quietly

In a statement published on the presidency's website, President Seguro acknowledged the two-thirds parliamentary majority but said that a law of this constitutional weight should rest on broader consensus. He added that the Nationality Law should not be subject to successive amendments "to the detriment of legal certainty and, consequently, of individuals, and risking affecting the indispensable credibility of institutions."

Two passages carry direct operational significance. On pending applications, he stressed the importance of ensuring that cases already in progress are not adversely affected by the legislative change — calling any such impact "an undesirable breach of trust in the state, at the domestic and international level." On processing delays, he stated that the legally fixed timelines for obtaining nationality must not be undermined by the slowness of the state.

Seguro also said his decision to sign was informed by the view that stricter criteria and longer timelines do not prevent the humanitarian protection of children and minors born in Portugal to immigrant parents, nor their access to health and education under existing law.

These are presidential interpretive remarks, not binding provisions. However, they may shape how Portuguese courts apply the law in future cases, including those brought by Golden Visa investors who challenged the legislation at the Constitutional Court in December 2025.

"An expected outcome"

Madalena Monteiro, founder of Liberty Legal and the lawyer who filed the investors' amicus curiae brief before the Constitutional Court, said the result was not a surprise.

"Promulgation was an expected outcome, since a two-thirds majority was guaranteed to override any veto," Monteiro said. She noted that the president's statement centred on two concerns: that pending applications must not be adversely affected by the legislative changes, and that legally established timeframes for acquiring nationality must not be undermined by administrative delays attributable to the state.

Second decree still under constitutional review

President Seguro signed only one of the two decrees passed after the 1 April vote. A separate measure — Decreto n.º 49/XVII — that would create loss of nationality as an accessory criminal penalty remains suspended. One parliamentary group filed a request for preventive constitutional review, and the court has not yet ruled.

The Constitutional Court struck down a comparable provision in December 2025 when it reviewed an earlier version of the legislation. Whether the revised formulation survives scrutiny will determine whether Portuguese courts can strip naturalized citizens of their nationality following a criminal conviction.

FAQ

What does Portugal's revised Nationality Law change for foreign nationals?

For most foreign nationals, the naturalization period doubles from five years to ten. Citizens of EU member states and CPLP nations face a seven-year requirement. The residency clock now starts only when AIMA formally issues a residence permit, not from the date of the original application.

Does the new law affect Portugal's Golden Visa program?

No. The Golden Visa program was not part of this legislative process. Permanent residency after five years of qualifying investment remains unaffected. The new timelines apply to naturalization only — the pathway from residency to a Portuguese passport.

Why did Portugal's president sign with reservations rather than vetoing?

A two-thirds parliamentary majority — sufficient to override a presidential veto — was behind the law, making a veto unlikely to succeed. The president signed while publicly flagging concerns about legal certainty, the treatment of pending applications, and the risk that AIMA's processing delays would inflate the effective timeline beyond the law's stated terms.

What happens to naturalization applications already in progress?

The president stressed that pending applications must not be adversely affected by the legislative change, calling any such impact "an undesirable breach of trust in the state." These are presidential interpretive remarks rather than binding provisions, but they may inform how courts treat transitional cases.

Further reading: Presidency of the Republic — promulgation statement