Good point. Doesnāt seem to be anything specifically covering naturalization here (IANAL)
2 Likes
I think thereās often confusion about āeffective connectionā (ligaĆ§Ć£o). Iād really like to check my understanding of this, so Iād welcome any corrections to what follows:
There are two chains of law that are relevant. The Nationality Law, first introduced in 1981 (37/81 of 3 October). This has been amended ten times, most recently in 2020 (Organic Law 2/20 of 10 November).
Chapter II of the Law is divided into three sections. Section I deals with āAcquisition of nationality by effect of willā, which basically covers children of people who acquire Portuguese nationality, and people who marry a Portuguese person. Section II covers adoption. Section III covers naturalisation, which is relevant to us. For our purposes we are interested in Article 6, mainly clause 1, which has evolved as follows:
- In its original version, the Government āmay grantā nationality by naturalisation to foreigners who have resided for six years in Portugal, know the language, have āmoral and civic suitabilityā, and can support themselves.
- āMay grantā became āgrantsā in 2006, implying an automatic process. Six years became ten in 1994, back to six in 2006 and then five years in 2018. āMoral and civic suitabilityā and the subsistence tests were dropped in 2006, replaced by the absence of a criminal conviction of >3 years. A ānational securityā test was added in 2015.
- In 2006, the language around residence was changed. Previously, it said āreside in Portuguese territory or under Portuguese administration, with a valid title of residence permitā. From 2006 it reads āhave resided legally in Portuguese territory [for X years]ā. I understand from other commentary, that āresided legallyā includes āhas had a residence permitā
- The āeffective linkā was not there in 1981, but was introduced in 1994, with applicants having to āprove the existence of an effective link to the national communityā. This was dropped in 2006.
So what remains in the Nationality Law is:
1 - The Government grants Portuguese nationality, by naturalization, to foreigners who cumulatively meet the following requirements:
a) Be of age or emancipated under Portuguese law;
b) Have resided legally in Portuguese territory for at least five years;
c) Know the Portuguese language sufficiently;
d) Have not been convicted, with final judgment, with a prison sentence equal to or greater than 3 years, for a crime punishable under Portuguese law;
e) Do not constitute a danger or threat to national security or defense, due to their involvement in activities related to the practice of terrorism, under the terms of the respective law.
Then we have the Nationality Regulations. I think these were first introduced in 2006 (Decree-Law No. 237-A/2006, of 14 December) and were amended in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2022. Weāre interested in Article 19. Clause 1 basically recaps whatās in the Nationality Law. Clause 2 sets out the documents you have to produce.
a) Birth registration certificate;
b) Document issued by the Foreigners and Borders Service, proving that you have legally resided in Portuguese territory for at least five years, under any of the titles, visas or authorizations provided for in the regime of entry, stay, exit and removal of foreigners and in the regime of the right of asylum or under special regimes resulting from treaties or conventions to which Portugal is a Party, namely within the scope of the European Union and the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries;
c) Document proving that you have sufficient knowledge of the Portuguese language, in accordance with the provisions of article 25;
d) Criminal record certificates issued by the competent Portuguese services, from the country of birth and nationality, except in the cases provided for in paragraph 8 of article 37, as well as from the countries where you have resided after completing the age of criminal responsibility.
Article 25 deals with proof of residence and language competence. On residence it says āThe Foreigners and Borders Service can issue the document proving legal residence in Portuguese territory based on the elements filed therein or on inquiries carried out for the purpose.ā
Article 56 (where the Public Prosecutor can oppose naturalisation due to lack of effective connection to the national community, etc), which has been mentioned in this thread, refers only to acquisition of nationality āby willā (the Section I cases mentioned above). This covers children of Portuguese parents born abroad, children born in Portugal, etc, but (as noted by others here) doesnāt include naturalisation of foreigners.
So in summary: to naturalise, as far as I can see, thereās nothing in the law that says you need to prove connections, or that the State can challenge your application on that basis.
26 Likes
Thank you for the detailed analysis which is very helpful.
I have one question / comment, how will an under 18 be treated if parents acquired nationality through GV and the under 18 had GV - legal residence for 5 years ? Iād the connectivity still needed ?
Appreciate any input if possible.
To be honest, I donāt know the answer to this. Here are a few threads here that may address the question.
3 Likes
Firstly - WOW!! Amazingly detailed analysis (in English too! as I am assuming source documents were in Portuguese). Secondly, Thanks for the conclusions as well - one related question, from the analysis it sounds like there is no basis in law for the 7 day requirement, and that is just a side-letter or promise on the GV front that can easily be revoked (as they seem to be right now)?
1 Like
Thanks. The 7 and 14 days periods are in law, in Article 65-C of the Regulatory Decree 84/2007 of 5 November (last amended in 2022), and have been in place basically since 2015. This Decree regulates the Golden Visa itself (whereas the Nationality Law and Regulations regulate naturalisation and citizenship generally).
So these could be amended, but would of course fall away anyway if the GV legislation as a whole is repealed.
8 Likes
For Children of GV investors - hereās my take:
Assuming the Child have not reached 18 years old when the GV investor get citizenship and assuming not born in Portugal
On the Nationality Law The relevant point is Section 1 - Acquisition of nationality by will - Article 2 - (Acquisition by minor or incapable children). The exact text is (Autotranslated by Google)
Minor or incapacitated children of a father or mother who acquires Portuguese nationality can also acquire it, by means of a declaration.
Acquisition of nationality by will can be opposed by āPublic Prosecution Serviceā on āThe lack of effective connection to the national communityā grounds as per Nationality law - Chapter IV Opposition to the acquisition of nationality by will. (In addition to usual requirement of not being jailed for 3yr+, no threat to national security, etc. But no mention of language requirement.
On Portuguese Nationality Regulation , Annex > Title I > Chapter I > Section II > Subsection II Article 13 Acquisition by minor or adult children accompanied by declaration of will, similarly states:
1 - The children of a parent who acquires Portuguese nationality, who are minors or adults who are accompanied and who lack representation for the act, if they also wish to acquire it, must declare, through their legal representatives, that they intend to be Portuguese. 2-in the declaration is identified the registration of acquisition of the nationality of the parent.
In Article 56 Opposition to the acquisition of nationality - Grounds, legitimacy and term, which translated by Minimaxr above:
The relevant point are (4) - which state they canāt say there is lack of effective connection if the minor has been legally resides in Portugal AND proves school attendance at an educational establishment in Portugal
On a separate note - Thereās multiple sources claiming students has to attend 1 full school year, the only relevant text to this is from Nationality Law, which does not seems to apply to average GV investors
2 - The Government grants nationality, through naturalization, to minors born in Portuguese territory, children of foreigners, and who, in case they have reached the age of criminal responsibility, meet the requirements of paragraphs d) and e) of the previous number, provided that, at the time of ordering, they meet one of the following conditions:
ā¦
c) The minor here has attended at least one year of pre-school education or basic, secondary or professional education.
TLDR - children of GV investors there is no requirement for residency nor language nor schooling requirement, as long as the Public Prosecution do not reject on ālack of connectionā grounds. But to be 100% sure then better to have 5 year of residence plus school attendance.
Seems there is no text governing what will happen for a children below 5 years old or what define āschool ageā - Can be 3 years old for āpre-school/Kindergartenā education and 6yrs old for āschool/primaryā education.
Based on my lawyer, he said the standard for minor application is very loose. He has personally helped a Brazilian client that only set foot in Portugal once to claim citizenship based on grandparents, and helped his children that never set foot on Portugal to acquire citizenship. However I think the Public Prosecution can still discriminate against GV investors and their children. His advise to me is to build more connection to Portugal myself and take children to Portugal more, get more Portuguese friends, etc because he said Courts look at family as a package. But personally I would doubt because it seems the Minor application is a separate application that come after GV investor got citizenship.
5 Likes
Thanks for sharing the information. Although GV investor and his minor kid apply for citizenship separately, it does give strong ties if he shows that his children attend 5 years in school in PT. To me, when you kid (under 18) attends school in PT, then it benefits both you and the kid in applying for citizenship, not just for your kid only. Most likely, it shows to the officer that you have already remained in Portugal 5 years while you kid was in school.
Bit of a side question here, but who approves/does the due diligence on citizenship applications? Is it the SEF (or whatever will replace them), or is it someone else?
Ministry of Justice
1 Like
Celebrating a small win with the new law proposal. 1.5-year GV holder myself. I guess if the Portuguese government wants to stop GV holders from attaining citizenship in the future, an exception clause could be added to the five years residency requirement. Hopefully this is far fetched?
hi Zach,
Thank you for your message. To be clear, you do need a valid card while applying for citizenship. Anyone/ any lawyer can submit the citizenship application for you. But since itās taking more than 1 year to have the citizenship approved. It is most likely you will need to renew at the 6th year point.
1 Like
If you need a valid residence card for the entire time your citizenship application is pending, to be comfortable you probably want a three year overhang. The examples I know of naturalization were pushing two years and with the huge recent influx of Ukranian refugees who will be applying just ahead of anyone getting their residence around now, itās very easy to imagine that in 5 years, the naturalization process takes more than 2 years.
Of course, we can always hope that the government decides to address the backlog rather than let it grow and grow. But not something to rely on.
Dear all;
Iāve talked to my lawyers about citizenship applications after 5 years and let me share what Iāve heard as it might be useful for some. The documentation that will be required is as below.
ā¢ A valid Portugal residency title;
ā¢ A birth certificate (full transcript) issued no longer than 6 months before being submitted, duly legalized;
ā¢ Proof of having a basic knowledge of the Portuguese language (CEFR A2 level);
ā¢ Criminal record certificates issued by the countries of birth, nationality and residence of all the countries the applicant has lived in since turning 16 years old, duly legalized;
ā¢ Proof of legal residency of Portugal (Official Declaration that we will request on your behalf);
ā¢ A valid passport;
ā¢ Power of attorney.
- proof stays for the cardsā¦
Technical note: One has to spend 5 weeks in Portugal for 5 years of residency. I was told that for the last 2 weeks to be counted, the last resideny card hast to be issuedā¦ This removes the possibility of simply completing the 5 years with extensions, you would need all three cards to be issued. However the extensions can be used to fill in for the gaps between renewals.
I was also told that having a
- NIF,
- NĆŗmero de Utente
- Bank Account is sufficient to prove the connection to the Portuguese community
I was able to get numero de utente during Covid - when people could get it via email by providing the necessary information such as name, birthdate, nationality, passport number, residency number, email, phone number and NIF.
My lawyers also stated that they could get it on my behalf (though with a fee)
I did get the numero de utente from the below email
lxcentral.inscricoes@arslvt.min-saude.pt.
Hope this helps some
13 Likes
Has anyone gotten the NĆŗmero de Utente recently (since the covid protocols ended)? Do you have to be physically in PT to get it?
2 Likes
Scenario:
Parents are citizens through GV naturalization. Do their minors also need to have 5 years of GV residency to apply for citizenship through declaration? Or is one GV enough at the time of citizenship application?
2 Likes
I was told that I needed a U.S. criminal record (local and FBI) because I lived there for over a year after turning 16. What is the most efficient way to get both records and to have them notarized and apostilled in the Los Angeles area? Thank you for advice. I havenāt been in the U.S. for over 20 yeas and live overseas.
Find a PrintScan location, most are at UPS stores. They will take your fingerprints electronically and provide the FBI report by email. You can also have them apostille the documents. I didnāt use them for the Apostille because I have a service I use in my professional life, but having them do the Apostille is convenient.
1 Like
sorry not completely understanding. You need to obtain these documents from outside the US? Wasnt sure what LA had to do with it.
Here is the US Embassyās page on getting Federal criminal background check:
Once you have the FBI report you send it to the US State Department for apostille (form and instructions on website) If you search āapostilleā on this board youāll get lots of pointers. Or, hire an Apostille Service to get it done. Once you have report and apostille, you get them translated.
Are you sure you need a ālocalā report? Have not heard of that request, just FBI. If so, I know you can get a similar report in CA by contacting CA Dept of Justice by again submitting fingerprints. Apostille would be submitted to CA Secretary of State. Info on website. Other states youāll have to look at their state websites. Good luck!
2 Likes
Thank you very much for the detailed information. The links that you provided are great leads although my situation seems to be quite complicated. I am currently in South Korea and I went to school in the US, residing in MA and DC for over a year decades ago. It was my Portuguese lawyer who recommended that I get a ālocalā and FBI criminal check (I am not sure what a ālocal criminal checkā means either. I have a relative is LA that I am hoping can help me get the documents issued, notarized, and apostilled in the US if necessary. I was also not sure how to get my finger prints taken if Iām in South Korea, but I will search whether I can do that through the embassy as the links that you sent me seem to suggest. Thank you very much once again!