You might get lucky on timing. The President should get the bill on his desk around 12th November. Say he takes the 8 days allowed and refers it to the Constitutional Court around 20th November. Suppose the TC takes the 25 days they’re allowed (assuming it’s not marked as ‘urgent’), and issue their ruling around 15th December. Not sure of the dates, but I believe Parliament usually goes into recess just before Xmas and is away until late Jan / early Feb.
So Parliament would have to turn this round (committee meets, produces report, plenary votes, finalising text, 3 day period for objections, etc) in the week before recess, which is probably quite busy anyway. I think that’s very tight if not impossible. (Of course the President/TC could act quicker, or maybe it doesn’t get referred.)
eg with the foreigners bill, the President vetoed it on 11th August, the second plenary vote was 30th Sep, the revised bill went to the President on 8 Oct and was promulgated on 16 Oct.
Maybe speak to someone with a good knowledge of parliamentary procedure/timetables. If you know the lawyer Andre Miranda, he’s quite good on this stuff I’ve found.
Hello everyone,
Yesterday, while discussing the citizenship application with my lawyer, she stated that our 7-year-old son’s application can only be submitted after one of the parents has obtained citizenship.
Is there anyone here submitted the application of the child alongside their own?
Hello w00zle, I am just checking if you were able to subsequently submit your application; assuming that you waited and submitted it after Jan 5th? Would love to hear any details you can share about what happened, the documents you submitted, etc. Thank you.
Unbelievable! My friend applied for German citizenship and got it in 3 months. Meanwhile, the average wait for Portuguese citizenship is at least 3 years. I’ve been applying for Portuguese citizenship for over a year and I’m still at step 1. It’s insane. I don’t know what Portugal is like in Europe I made a mistake and got bogged down in the Portuguese swamps.
For your information Germany is also taking long to process citizenship requests now. One of my friends has been waiting for 1.5 years already. Another has waited around 1 year. However a third friend received theirs in less than 1 month. So it is very arbitrary. Sweden and Ireland can also take a long time to process citizenship so Portugal is not the only country that takes a while.
Thank you for the information. However, I’ve never seen a country with a process as long as Portugal’s. The waiting time for a residence permit is 2 years, and the minimum waiting time for citizenship approval is 3 years, while the maximum waiting time is unclear. Add to that the significant investment in the Golden Visa program and other substantial costs, and it’s still publicly listed at the bottom of the waiting list. And with the waiting period for residence permits and citizenship for their children under the Golden Visa program, these children lose the opportunity to go out and experience better things. Anyway, your friend is very lucky not to have to wait at least 3 years, avoiding a pointless wait for residence permits and citizenship in Portugal.
Portugal’s process should be better, especially for people putting down so much cash. But if you want to look at a country with similarly ridiculous or even longer processing timelines, look no further than the good ol’ US of A. (EB5 to citizenship processing timeline is 11-13 years and perhaps 15-17+ years for Indian or Chinese born people)
If you had a great time in Portugal, congratulations. Like many other Golden Visa investors, I encountered some unpleasant experiences during the renewal process and while waiting for citizenship. Clearly, Portugal has treated very, very badly those who have spent huge sums of money investing in the Golden Visa. Back in 2018, instead of investing in the US EB-5 program, I heard an advertisement that the Golden Visa investment would quickly grant me residency after just 3 months of fingerprinting and citizenship after 5 years. I was wrong, and that’s why I tormented myself. The days were dark, filled with meaningless waiting and exorbitant fees. The most important thing is that the children of those on the Golden Visa are dependent on one parent obtaining citizenship first before they can apply for citizenship for the other parent. The waiting time is indefinite, trapping these children in this terrible country. Those who invested in the EB-5 program in 2018, at the same time as me (the Portuguese Golden Visa), also received US citizenship for their entire family, including parents and children in 2024-2025. I invested in the Golden Visa program in 2018, my third renewal, after waiting 9 months, still hasn’t resulted in a card, and for almost two years now, citizenship application has been stuck at step 1. The US EB-5 process timeline is very clear and adheres to deadlines.If you are Asian and you are investing in obtaining citizenship for your entire family with the aim of a better future for your children, then Portugal is a wrong choice. This is because Portugal is holding your children captive through bureaucratic procedures in granting residence permits and citizenship.
I completely agree with you. It seems like Portugal is heading in the wrong direction. I have seen it change from a nice, warm country to one that is gradually becoming anti-immigrant. It is especially frustrating and ironic considering that Portuguese people themselves have a long history of immigrating all over the EU.
When I submitted my application back in September 2023, it was taking around 2 years, and the first two steps of the 7 step process was taking 12-15 months.
We were told that the new online system would automate the first two steps, and were told that things would speed up. If you have been in this journey as long as I’ve been, you wouldn’t of course buy that, but still I was cautiously optimistic that it might speed up things by few months. Later on we were told that the last step (birth certificate) was also automated by AI.. In a normal environment, these all would at least decrease the lead times.
Well here we are, people are now talking about 3 years for pending applications and 4 years for new submissions and I have not seen lead times like this in other countries. The usual practice is around a year and 2 year seems to be the usual cap, anything beyond 2 is usually intentional - that’s unless you apply via a busy office.
We had spent a lot of time in this community and much of it has been helpful - or at least a place to share some misery. To close the loop on our Portugal adventure, a country we have loved, we decided to sell everything. We had two different properties, and a much delayed Golden Visa application. Like many we just got tired of being treated like garbage. Over the last year we sold those assets and have moved on. Best decision ever. It has forever tainted our opinion of Portugal as a country (the government not the people) and we used to visit multiple times per year. We of course will be back, but it’s lost a big place in our hearts. Good luck to all who are still trying. They wanted our money and investments to help turn around the country but in the end was not a partner to be trusted.
We are also exiting. I sold my apartment, and cancelling the whole process now. Only good thing is that I was able to recover my costs through increased property prices.
I made a mistake and got bogged down in the Portuguese swamps. 