Language required for citizenship - GV

If your lawyer is confident and then why to ask anyone else in the forum or elsewhere? However, I am 100% certain that this course you have mentioned isnā€™t one of the qualified requirements for a PR or a citizenship requirements. If you do spend a little time on last part of the course description it says:

All students successfully completing the course will receive an official certificate.

Any student wishing to officially register their level proficiency in the Portuguese language may sit an exam for obtaining the Portuguese as a Foreign Language Initial Certificate (CIPLE) at a Portuguese as a Foreign Language Assessment Center [CAPLE]. Means even if you complete the course your qualifications shall not be recorded in a SIGO platform unless you take a CIPLE A2 test.

Devil is always in the details, thread carefully before choosing a lawyer for a citizenship application

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I did a short course - ā€œA1.1ā€ with LUSA, and was not impressed.

The method is ā€œImmersionā€ which means that the instructor is not permitted to speak in anything other than Portuguese i.e. very little explanation is given in English for key concepts/learning points. If starting at A1 level this is quite confronting and self defeating, and raises my hackles about ulterior motives etc.

I ended up walking out in the 2nd last session after an especially long winded ā€œblastā€ in Portuguese for some point, and after completing the ā€œpracticeā€ version of a full test due in the following, final session. It was 2 part - multi-choice and a short answer. I completed only the multi-choice by largely educated guesses and did not complete the short answer at all. I was advised by later email that I achieved a C+.

As others have said, and I agree, the language course industry in Portugal is dubious at best. And as Iā€™ve said previously, Iā€™ll be taking the 150 hour PLA course to actually maybe learn something permanent.

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There is at least one person on this forum whose application was held up because their language course turned out not to be valid for naturalization Citizenship Rejection - #3 by Arminasu

this is the actual requirement: Find out about the means available to obtain a certificate of qualifications that proves knowledge of the Portuguese language

In accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 25 of Decree-Law No. 237-A/2006 , of December 14 (diploma approving the Regulation of Portuguese Nationality), as amended by Decree-Law No. 26/2022, of March 18, knowledge of the Portuguese language can be proven in one of the following ways:

a) Qualification certificate or certificate issued by a public, private or cooperative educational establishment recognized under legal terms, provided that its holder has successfully attended the Portuguese or Portuguese as a Non-Native Language curricular unit/subject for at least two academic years;

b) Certificate of passing a Portuguese language test taken in public educational establishments, when carried out in national territory, or in locations accredited by CamƵes ā€“ Instituto da CooperaĆ§Ć£o e da LĆ­ngua, IP, when carried out abroad, with the regulation of this test, as well as its control, being set out in an executive order issued by the members of the Government responsible for the areas of foreign affairs, internal administration, justice and education; [please consult the website of the Instituto de AvaliaĆ§Ć£o Educativa, IP (IAVE, IP) on the PaN ā€“ Test of Knowledge of the Portuguese Language for Acquisition of Nationality]

c) Certificate in Portuguese as a foreign language, issued after taking a test at a Portuguese as a foreign language assessment center, recognized by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, upon protocol; [please consult the website of the Portuguese as a Foreign Language Assessment Center (CAPLE), in the area dedicated to Portuguese as a Foreign Language Exams (PLE)]

d) Certificate attesting to completion of level A2 or higher of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, issued by a public education establishment, employment and training centres and protocol centres of the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training, IP (IEFP, IP), under Order No. 1262/2009, of 15 October, in its current wording;

e) Certificate of the Portuguese as a Reception Language course attesting to completion of level A2 or higher of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, issued by public educational establishments, by establishments that are part of the network of direct and participatory management centers of the IEFP, IP, and by Qualifica Centers, under Order No. 183/2020, of August 5 (amended by Order No. 184/2022, of July 21);

f) Certificate of qualifications attesting to the completion of competence units/training units in Portuguese that form part of the school training component of a qualification from the National Qualifications Catalogue, obtained through dual certification training modalities of the National Qualifications System, in accordance with article 9 of Decree-Law no. 396/2007 of 31 December, in its current wording, and which total a minimum of 100 hours.

it now allows for other ways to prove proficiency.

Thank you, very sobering

It has always been like this, nothing new so far. And yes the online course issued by Instituto Camoes isnā€™t one of them. Unless someone wants to risk 2+ years and redoing the PR/Citizenship applicationā€¦

Hello again, still looking for an online A2 language course (certificate, no exam) to get started on. The various intensive online courses that are 15-20 hours per week are nigh on impossible for us to do as my family members are working/studying full-time.

Iā€™m currently considering CipleMaster https://www.ciplemaster.com/

Has anyone actually started/completed a course with these guys, received a certificate, received citizenship with their certificate?

They have offered us a 2 hours per week (75 weeks) option which would fit our busy schedules quite nicely, but I canā€™t find a great deal about the company nor any trusted reviews/testimonials from other students/clients. They say they do issue an A2 certificate thatā€™s valid for citizenship applications.

I just want to know what user experiences anyone out there has had as they are very expensive.

Would love to hear from anyone who is either a current or pervious user of one of their courses.

When I last checked they were very expensive (at least 10x EdPro) which is possibly why not many people have used their course. What price did they give you?

The only other flexible/tailored PLA course I heard of is through IAS (Mercan Lawyers) Portuguese Lab: IAS - International Atlantic Services

is there anyone besides ciplemaster that does a ā€œfew hours a weekā€ course online? it sounds like the intensive might beā€¦ too intensive for me to keep up with along with a full time job, but EUR 5k is a little daunting.

@jb4422 - but I donā€™t know which PLA course they partner with. For all I know, they could just be pointing customers to Ciplemaster. But it could also be someone else.

I just had a quick look at the IAS website and it seems their A2 course does not provide a certificate valid for citizenship without taking the CIPLE exam, but rather is just preparing you to go take the CIPLE exam, which is what Iā€™m looking to avoid. So far CipleMaster is the only course that gives a valid certificate without the exam and also offers a flexible schedule that might fit around work commitments. The price was the same as that quoted on their website. Yes itā€™s very expensive but so far I donā€™t see any other options for us.

They have both options, PLE (Ciple Exam required) and PLA (Ciple Exam not required).

Ooops sorry, just looked at the IAS website again and looks like they do have a ā€˜no examā€™ option!

Iā€™ll follow up directly with them but anyone knows if their language courses are open to golden visa holders who did not apply through their service?

On the other end of the spectrum, is there anything more intensive than EdPro? EdPro is part time (3-4 hours / day) for 7-8 weeks right?

Is there any PLA course thatā€™s full time (8 hours / day = 40 hours per week) for just 3.5 weeks? Then one could just take a 3.5-4 week vacation in Portugal (which also goes towards satisfying the residency requirement) and get the whole thing over with in one go!

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The IAS description of their tailored PLA (no exam) option sounds a lot like the description of the Ciple Master flexible PLA option!

From the IAS website - ā€œRegarding PLA, to meet the diverse needs of our clients, we have partnered with two types of institutions. If youā€™re looking for a fully personalized experience, our bespoke partner offers flexible schedules, smaller class sizes, and even the option for private lessons.ā€

ā€¦ sounds a lot like the Ciple Master offer.

Will check out the IAS/PLA flexible course over the next few days.

If thereā€™s anyone out there who has done the tailored/flexible PLA course with either IAS or Ciple Master (or even the non-tailored/fixed PLA course) Iā€™d really appreciate any feedback youā€™re able to share.

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I probably should just pay the 5k and suck it. I could try to find a private tutor but I wonā€™t get the cert and I think you need some level of group activity. When I learned German, I did have a tutor for the first three months, but then you are only exposed to their manner of speaking and you arenā€™t really fumbling along with other people. I think. Anyone have any views on tutor vs class?

I tried a tutor for 10 lessons online.
While you obviously have some tailored material and pace, it does not seem to me like an optimal solution:

  • no certificate
  • you can ask them to prep you for the A2 exam but they are not really specialized in the exam
  • expensive in the long run
  • limited exposure as itā€™s only one person you speak with and they can may mistakes too

From the perspective of someone living in PT, if youā€™re here then I donā€™t know that the language classes or tutor are worth it. Thereā€™s ample opportunity to speak in daily life; the combination of nightly Duolingo and day to day life has left me conversationally fluent in less than a year of living here. Youā€™ll be fine learning organically particularly if you have some inclination for languages. Total immersion, after all.

For those of you living outside PT, I offer no opinion.

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Two members of my family used Ciple Master. They had 2 amazing tutors that they liked very much. They did the 2 hours, 3 days a week option and really enjoyed it. They both received their certificates. No word on if it officially works for citizenship but it seems to be associated with a Qualifica center so should be sufficient.
Personally, I did about 160 hours with a 1:1 tutor over 2 years and passed the formal CAPLE exam.

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@drlward

Thanks for the feedback on Ciple Master. Thatā€™s quite reassuring that your family members had a good experience with them. Not being able to find out much about them online (other than what they themselves put out) I was a little dubious.

Are your family members planning to apply for citizenship with the Ciple Master certificate? Were they advised by their lawyer that those certificates should be accepted?

Congrats on passing the CAPLE exam!