Very interesting, where are you getting your news about different IRNs? I’m planning to apply in 4 months and I don’t mind traveling even to the azores if it means faster process.
Thru FB groups and this forum. Many members of this forum applied citizenship 1-2 years ago and they shared info here.
FB groups also have whatsapp group’s link in which people can share info quicker.
There is a PT-speaking forum called cidadaniaportuguesa with an application tracker.
Given
- the nationality law may change in the first quarter of next year
- the 3 month lead time to get an IRN appointment
- the unclear position of when postal applications are deemed accepted, and what happens if there are slight issues with the submitted documents
I think the far safer position for anyone who is eligible to apply in the next few months is to do it online via lawyer, which has no lead time and can be done as soon as you are eligible. Lawyer gets the proof of payment immediately (or within a few days), and you get a mail in your own email account in ~10 days saying ‘O estado do seu pedido de nacionalidade com o número de submissão IRN-00000/2025 foi alterado para “Submetido”.’ which means you’re in the queue. Months later you’ll get the tracking code which lets you check status online, but at least you’re definitely in.
I know this thread is for people who have the ability to do it themselves in person, but just saying, these are not normal times.
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If he is eligible to apply in next few months i.e 3 months, why not getting an appointment in one of IRNs 3 months ahead? 
If he is eligible to apply right now and cannot wait because documents are going to expire in 3-4 weeks, then using lawyer is a good option.
Here’s the link to the application tracker
Tempo de Residência (Mod 6.1) - Planilha Cidadania Portuguesa
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The upcoming change in law leaves very little margin for error - if the IRN official of the day doesn’t like some document or asks for something else, or the applicant is unable to attend the appointment due to family emergencies, or IT issues, or any number of things - there is a danger of not getting a second chance in time to qualify under the existing rules, and thereby falling into the new regime.
Under normal circumstances, stable laws, DIY is a good option for those who can manage it, because if things go wrong you can always try again a few weeks or months later. But during this transition time, risking all the GV effort at the very last step, primarily for saving lawyer’s fees which are insignificant compared to the whole outlay, is not worth it IMHO. I am very paranoid about high stakes scenarios where you get just one shot, and try to make them multi-shot if at all possible.
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Have you applied in person before?
- Firstly there is a list of documents in application’s form. If all are prepared as instructed in application’s form, no way it is going to be rejected. Also the documents are very simple. Criminal records: everyone must know well by now how to get it. Birth certificate can’t go wrong if it is legalized and apostiled by embassy. Portuguese certificate does not need anything as it is issued by Portugal. Officer does not take or reject because he likes or does not like. He looks at the list of docs and check the boxes.
- Secondly, one can book more than 1 appointment and it can be in different IRNs. For example: if he is elegible to apply from March 24th, then he should start booking for several appoinments: March 25th; march 27th; Apr 1st, Apr 2nd……when I did it, i booked 6-7 appointments in different IRNs. Of course, once I submitted mine, I cancelled the other appointmens for other people to use it….In worst case scenario, if I am sick on the day or my car breaks down or there a fire in IRN building, there are still 6 other opportunities to try. It just can’t go wrong. In my case, I booked 6 slots for 6 different days. But then I ended up booking and using a last minute slot which was released only 20 hours before the date (someone cancelled his slot) because this particular appointment was 5 days earlier than my 1st appointment. There is no reason to stay at home for 5 days if I am eligible to apply with all docs ready and secure an appointment earlier.
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Good point about multiple appointments, I had not considered it. That does reduce most of the first order problems. As for the rest - risk evaluation is for each individual to make.
To be honest, after reading your post, I was considering applying myself without a lawyer as the lawyers are charging in excess of Euro 2,500 per person. My challenge is that I am not yet eligible but the lawyers are advising to apply now as it is likely that by the time the application is assessed, I will be eligible (my eligibility is in Oct 2026). With that hurdle in mind and a valid A2 certificate not in hand, I guess my best bet is to go with the lawyer. But honestly speaking, I got a lot of courage from your post so thank you for giving the confidence in the DIY process and I wish you all the best for the positive outcome of the application.
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Yea, I guess the OP misses the point a bit of the bizarre situation some of us are finding ourselves in. It’s all well and good applying by yourself in-person if a) you factually made it above the threshold for legal residence, and b) you got all the mandatory documents obtained from multiple countries, apostilled, translated and notarized. That’s a lot of “-ed” to complete in the best of times 
And on top of all that we still need to learn the new language in about 2 weeks, pass the exam, and get the certificate..
I am thinking of making myself ready for all 3 options, i.e. engaging the lawyers, booking the IRN appt, and buying a cardboard-backed C4 envelope.. 
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It is the main reason of why I applied in person without lawyers. Before the newly proposed citizenship law, all lawyers said that we could not apply 1 day earlier than the 5 year mark. Now, rug is pulled, lawyers suddenly say: well, we could apply earlier than 5 years and it can’t harm…
I just can’t swallow their logic and of course we all see what they are aiming for….Even bloodsuckers are not in the same league with lawyers….
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Just FYI, it took five months to get the acknowledgment of submission for us. The lawyer has a different portal and could confirm the date it was received, but our confirmation was much later.
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That’s right. Our lawyer submitted ours online in October, and they are still showing as ‘in processing’. She said it takes 4-5 months to show as ‘submitted’. But the official submission date is still the date you actually submitted, not the later date IRN updates your profile to say submitted.
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Thank you for this great information. I’m leaning toward submitting my own application as well.
If you were happy with the provider of your certified translations, would you mind sharing a referral? What was the rough turnaround time and cost?
I wouldn’t trouble you, but notaries don’t include these details on their websites. Feel free to PM if you prefer.
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Hi Mark!
Thanks for your kind words.
Here is the link of company for translation:
Just tell them about “tradução certificada”. They know exactly what it is. Quick and easy. As I remember it cost me about 20-22Euros/ translation of criminal record.
You can pick up the translation in their office in Lisbon or simply they courrier it to you
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thank you!
Here is a question about applying for citizenship; this seems like the most relevant existing topic.
My residence card does not include my middle name, because I do not routinely use it. However, it seems appropriate to include it on my future Portuguese birth certificate, just as it is included on my original birth certificate.
For those who have applied for citizenship, did you have this same issue with a middle name included on some documents and excluded on others–particularly the birth certificate and Portuguese residence card? Is IRN tolerant of a mismatch or do they make a fuss about it?
I visited an IRN office today in the afternoon, but they were closed–probably for the festival holiday. I’ll try again later in the week if I don’t figure it out here first.
I’m contemplating whether to investigate whether I can change it on my residence card during the upcoming renewal cycle. That is not a supported workflow on the contactenos web site but I can probably figure something out.
I think it’s best to have your middle name on all important documents. I initially signed up for my CIPLE exam without my middle name (because the form only had fields for first and last names) and had to email CAPLE to add it. Luckily in advance of them printing the certificates.
But that said, your main proof of ID when naturalizing is your birth certificate, so hopefully they would match that. I’m not a lawyer though.
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I assume that your query arises from the fact that the nationality form has a space for first name and last name, but not for middle name. I know that it is possible to include the middle name because the submission by my lawyer shows my middle name, but I cannot say that I know the logistics of how they accomplished this. Based on the following information, perhaps it would be included as part of the first name:
Portuguese people typically do not use middle names in the English-speaking sense; instead, they use one or two given names followed by two or more surnames (usually maternal then paternal). A legal name can contain up to two first names and four surnames, often creating long, multi-word names that act as compound, rather than separated, first and last names.
Key details regarding Portuguese naming conventions include:
- Structure: The standard format is given name(s) + mother’s surname(s) + father’s surname(s).
- First Names: It is common to have two first names (e.g., Ana Carla or José Maria), which are treated as a combined given name rather than a first and middle name.
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