Actually the official AD platform that they took to the recent election says that they are planning to review the requirements for granting citizenship by extending the minimum period of residence and “effective presence” in national territory, and eliminating “illegal stay” being counted towards the time requirement (in fact, I would guess that’s the document the LLM was referring to).
That refers to all foreigners applying for citizenship, not specifically to GV. But you could argue that unless they make a special carve out for GV, we will get caught up in it. As I’ve pointed out in another thread, the same AD platform document also strongly criticizes PS for their retroactive changes to GV rules in 2023. It seems reasonable (not certain) that AD would enact some kind of transition period for any future changes to protect the expectations of current GV holders and avoid legal challenges. But we’re all just looking into a crystal ball at the moment.
Exactly. There’s no indication that PSD is explicitly targeting GV holders with the “presença efetiva” statement.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that the GV program doesn’t get caught in the crossfire. I think we should do what we can to make sure PSD understands that the current path to citizenship for ARI holders is what makes the program successful.
Maybe we could conduct a survey of GV investors trying to map out what percentage of investors would have signed up if it wasn’t for the path to citizenship? Then we can do some back of the envelope math to estimate the amount of foreign investment Portugal stands to lose if they kneecap the program and try to get this data in front of the right people.
Support the idea of a survey…
If they up the years required for citizenship, I can’t see making an exception for GVs being politically popular.
Or perhaps they’ll just forget to mention anything about GVs, like they did last time!
Sorry, this story is over a week old - but I don’t see that anyone’s posted about it (?)
Petition is here, so far only has 620 signatures:
https://participacao.parlamento.pt/initiatives/4879
- Promote the amendment to the wording of article 15, item 4, and the above law and its regulations shall consequently read as follows: “For the purposes of counting the legal residence periods provided for in this law, the time elapsed since the temporary residence permit was applied for, by any means that is effective, in the form of paper, electronic, platform or system in force, court order, shall also be considered, provided that it is granted.”
- The holder of a residence permit who has resided in the country for a total of 5 years in any capacity is guaranteed nationality in accordance with point 4, by acquired right.
– (the law should be amended to impose a transitional rule and to ensure that anyone who is already in a position to apply for nationality by acquisition is not jeopardised by any future extension of the deadline.)
– Note this wouldn’t help any of us who are a few months/years short of 5.
Petição pede proteção jurídica para requerentes da Lei da Nacionalidade em caso de aumento do tempo
Petition calls for legal protection for Nationality Law applicants in case of time extension
13 May 2025, DN Brasil
The document also calls for “immediate regulation” of the latest change, which now includes a five-year waiting period for the document.
Signed!
The process to create an account was a little fiddly… for registration purposes, it worked to say I had an “other” form of ID and wrote in “Passport (country-name)”.
Note: before logging in, you must check your email and click a link to activate your account. (The website will not prompt you to do this but it is required.)
This petition is a good step, because it’s visible and quick (a 1-step signing once you have an account). But as @tkrunning says, it’s important for decision-makers to understand the impact of any changes before they’re made. So I’m still looking forward to filling out a survey here, to specify the exact consequences of any future GV-impacting changes to the citizenship law.
Just signed, thanks for sharing! Not sure how helpful it would be. but atleast something
GV promoters starting to fret? Or using uncertainty to push people to invest now? I just got this from Suncap Visa.
- Their timeline is interesting.
- But suggesting that those “considering the Golden Visa” should dive in now is a bit daft, given they also say PT “respects the rule in place at the time of application (tempus regit actum), but this only applies if you’re already legally resident.” - if you’re only applying for a GV now, fat chance of being legally resident by early next year!
(the following as per Suncap Visa, not me
)
Timeline for Change
- June 16 – Sept 14: Parliamentary recess
- Oct 15, 2025: Deadline for the 2026 State Budget submission
- Jan 1, 2026: New rules could come into effect
Note: Changes to the Nationality Law require separate legislation, but residency pathways like the Golden Visa may be addressed in the budget, especially in the context of public finance.
What You Can Do
- Start your residency process now: If you’re not already in the system, you may not qualify under the current 5-year rule.
- Protect your rights - Portuguese law generally respects the rule in place at the time of application (tempus regit actum), but this only applies if you’re already legally resident.
- Get expert advice - Speak with a legal advisor to clarify your position and prepare for potential changes.
Portugal remains one of Europe’s most attractive destinations — but the window to secure nationality under the current rules may soon close.
If you’re considering the Golden Visa or any other residency pathway, now is the time to act and we are here to guide you every step of the way.
Never heard about Suncap Visa, but lol I guess? Not sure what they are smoking
Good idea. I think the results of that survey are predictable but it would be good to put a dollar amount on it. Speaking for myself, citizenship with low residency requirements was the only reason we embarked on this. To state the obvious, the government knew that was the carrot to match the stick of investing large amounts of money. If we wanted to live in Portugal full time, we could and would have chosen a much cheaper visa option.
Also just signed. Thanks for sharing.
Signed, thanks for posting.
I met today with a real estate developer selling expensive real estate in Portugal. I told them I am interested but will not consider buying anything until I am sure that I can apply for citizenship after 5 years. When they follow up with me I will tell them the same thing. Hate to believe that money talks, but it is true. Let’s all send a message with ceasing spending of money in the country. The real estate industry speaks to the government louder than any other.
I like how a simple question that supposes to have a short answer became an endless 6months theme, that includes lawyers, elections, processes and multiple different topics impacting the original answers.
We should be so lucky for this question to be resolved in 6 months - it’s been longer than that, and we’re still wondering!
From March:
An interesting argument I saw was that PS’s 2024 change to the nationality law to count the naturalization time from requesting the residency creates a stronger link.
Because that change was not merely to the residency law, saying that residency will be counted from the request.
But it was actually a change to the nationality law, saying that time for nationality purposes counts from the request for residency.
The argument was that this creates a strong link in the nationality law between requesting residency, and citizenship, so changing the requirements for anyone who has already requested residency, would now be a retroactive change to the nationality law.
@Margarida.Torres what do you think of that argument?
It is pitiful that after all this time we STILL do not have a definitive answer to this question accepted as definitive throughout the Portuguese government and judiciary. The answer to this question is particularly important to those of us who moved to Portugal upon receiving permission to do so after GV application and payment of the application fee.
After waiting 3 1/2 years for first SEF and then AIMA to process and approve my visa I have remained in Portugal and not returned to the US to change my application to a D7 to finally have legal residency because I do not want to lose the 3 1/2 years from date of application.
If date of application will not ultimately count toward application for nationality, I will have lost credit for that time without gaining the ability to travel in Europe or having any of the other benefits that come with legal residency.
Not knowing the answer STILL is a strong blot against the integrity and trustworthiness of the Portuguese State. Not giving people who followed all of the rules timely action on their applications creates real harm to people’s lives. Compounding the problem by not providing actionable information to make decisions going forward is a disgrace.
This is an interesting argument and I think it is quite obvious that your implication is correct, namely that changes to nationality law to backdate application date to time of initial application created a legitimate right and expectation that must be protected under the Constitution.
But it is much more than that. There are many other rights and expectations that are damaged by such an action. Let’s take the example of child of an applicant aged 16 at time of application. In my case I applied on the basis that my child could have the opportunity to apply for citizenship at age 21 (after 5 years). By extending this residence duration to 10 years, it makes it effectively impossible for him because he must avoid obtaining a job, and avoid getting married and avoid other traps of non-dependency. This will serve to eliminate the path to citizenship. Such a result can have no place within the laws or Constitution of Portugal.
I think the productive thing to do is to create a wiki related to legitimate expectations and have everyone contribute arguments such as that of @anonymous69
[quote=“mborcherding, post:1261, topic:62393”]
It is pitiful that after all this time we STILL do not have a definitive answer
[/quote]ink
I feel for your situation and it is not unlike many other unfortunate people here But complaining does not help anyone. There is a dedicated thread for that. I think you are unlikely to get the answer you want from the government anytime soon. I suggest taking matters into your own hands. Research, contribute to the greater good by creating or contributing to a wiki. There are things that can be done proactively to be constructive. Even that that case, there is a dedicated thread for complaints. I would love to see more people contributing to the greater good here and it is only my opinion, but I think this forum could be more useful if there were more organized wikis instead of thread after thread with thousands of meandering posts. A few people have created wonderfully helpful wikis or otherwise aggregated useful information for others but unfortunately this is still the exception.
see some examples here of resources that could be analyzed and summarized:
https://www.fnac.pt/Nacionalidade-e-Estrangeiros-Edgar-Valles/a11846735
There may be another avenue to pursue if you applied in 2021 and then moved to PT full-time ( as appears in your case).
Under the Despacho n.º 12870-C/2021, de 31 de dezembro your stay in PT is legal and your 5 years count of legal residence already started when you moved, and is maintained unless you abandon physical residence.
I did the same, applied in 2021 and moved in 2022 before GV approval. The advice I received at the time was that my 5 years had started on arrival based on my right to legal residence.
Sure, your Cdt may not reflect that ( it remains to be seen and is subject to a different regulation) but a court should uphold your residence as a legal resident under above Despacho, and you will ultimately win.