Very interesting. It’s been striking to me how discrete wealthy Portuguese are. They are not at all flashy (even while they are very snobby - lineage matters a lot, like 100’s of years). So even for them “buying” a passport would be frowned on and FWIW some of them are amongst Chega’s biggest supporters.
On a different tack, people weren’t just living under Salazar - they were shipped off to Africa to fight his wars. And then there were the retornados, who arrived here as refugees, not having lived in Portugal for generations. I feel like that has to have an impact - and maybe it’s why Franco didn’t have the same impact in Spain as the Salazar years did in Portugal?
Are you sure about this? The law says minor or incapable. I think that might mean eg mentally disabled, not just dependent (still studying etc) which is enough for GV family reunification.
Os filhos menores ou incapazes de pai ou mãe que adquira a nacionalidade portuguesa podem também adquiri-la, mediante declaração.
My current plan is to effectively pull out of the program, but since I’m in an illiquid fund I’m stuck for a couple more years. My cards expire in June 2026 and I have no plans to pay the fees to renew them or spend 2 weeks in Portugal. I am considering to apply for renewal (with no intention of actually doing the renewal) on the assumption that AIMA will continue to suck and therefore I won’t have any appointment for a long time. This would at least allow me to sit around in the very unlikely chance they realize they screwed up and change the law again? If I do happen to get an appointment, I can just blow it off. Does this seem like a viable strategy?
I don’t know, I haven’t really looked into Spain at all to know anything about the Franco years. The retornados had an effect, and it certainly caused social unrest, but I’m not sure of its applicability along this particular line of travel. /shrug/
Watch this video. There is a lot of explanation on the nationality law and a lot of hope on the president sending the law to constitutional court. Some discussion on grandfathering. Wonderful discussion by a parliament member organised by Liberty Legal. Thanks.
Hi Lala, are you sure Art 2 is 4 years for minor children of naturalised parents? My lawyer told me it’s faster than many other routes. I’ve seen some lawyers say (and one applicant speak about this approach being used by their lawyer in their case), that the parent applies under 6.1 and the minor under 2 at the same time, and if you’re lucky they’ll be processed together?
In the Facebook PT nationality groups they sometimes post current backlogs from the various offices, and a recent post from Lisbon says they’re processing Article 2 filed in July 2022, so about 3.5 years right now.
Portugal does not suffer from a racial or religious problem in the modern sense, but from a deep-rooted identity problem. For centuries, the Portuguese population has been ethnically blended—with African, Moorish, and European bloodlines interwoven since medieval times—yet a rigid hierarchy of social and cultural identity persists. These invisible hierarchies stem not from biological difference but from the historical legacy of empire, the Catholic Church, and the conservative corporatist order built under António de Oliveira Salazar.
The Salazar regime, while authoritarian, provided the structural foundation of Portuguese society: a disciplined, hierarchical system that valued stability over innovation. Even after democratization and integration into the European Union, Portugal remained economically dependent and socially static, constrained by the habits and institutions inherited from that era. Thus, neither liberalization nor socialist redistribution can resolve the country’s underlying stagnation, because the real issue lies not in policy design but in the identity-based and historical structure of Portuguese society itself. Portugal’s predicament illustrates a broader pattern in post-imperial Europe, where nations burdened by historical hierarchies and cultural conservatism face limits to modernization that politics alone cannot overcome.
The strict control over the pace of investment immigration and the reform of the citizenship law essentially reflect Portugal’s core problem: the established and stable identity and social hierarchy, which it refuses to accept being disrupted or reshaped by external influences.
Finally, I want to say that since its historical alliance with Britain, its gradual relinquishment of industry, and its modern integration into the EU, relinquishing its own currency ownership, Portugal’s fate has been almost predetermined. From poverty to prosperity and back to poverty—this destiny is difficult to break.
I’ve seen some lawyers and immigration agents say that it is possible to submit the Art 2 application at the same time as the parent (which makes perfect sense and seems like an obvious workflow solution), but I haven’t come across any reports of this working. It would be great to hear if there are and I’d certainly take the chance.
Attached is the latest update I can find for CRC Lisboa, where Art 2 applications go. IRN emphasises that processing date is when they start considering the files, not when decisions are made. My own 6.1 is now ~6 months beyond the given date at Porto. My child is 2 months short of 4 years - submitted when she was 15.
Because not gaining citizenship before 18 would have (and now will have) irreversible consequences, we took IRN to court after 2 years. Their response was basically that they only considered life and limb as a basis for urgency (this has been relaxed somewhat in their latest correspondence to me, but doesn’t help). We responded. They replied, and then the courts imploded and we’ve had no word for more than a year. Since then I’ve used every bit of cunha I could muster and written to every relevant government department, including corresponding directly with the IRN Conservador, and various people with influence. While there has been sympathy and some assistance to deal with the implications, it’s very clear that there is no speeding things up. I think only Benfica or the Catholic Church could make that happen (maybe not even the latter).
Finally, considering that most of the Art 6.1 and Art 6.7 processes that are currently backlogged will each likely result in more than one Art 2 application in coming years, I think it’s going to become even more of a bottleneck. So 4 years is not an unrealistic outer limit to plan around.
i applied gv june 2023
sued in april 2024
resolution of suit nov 2024 (meaning secured bio appointment)
got bios in january 2025 (for whole family)
gv card in april 2025 (for whole family)
By way of contrast, our Bios were taken a week before the AIMA “new, new process” announcement last Christmas, and we still don’t have approval or cards (or our Citizenship clock ticking yet). Yes we sued and appealed - latter is in the rotting pile of 100,000+ suits somewhere.
Luck and chance are half the game in the PT GV
…oh, but somehow it’s fair to have our Citizenship clock start dates based on randomness like the above???
So did you submit your child’s application at the same time as yours then? The second paragraph of your post makes it sound that way.
Assuming your child has their own GV, reaching 18 means they have to learn A2 Portuguese and apply under 6.1? Assuming they’ll still be in education and unmarried?
Also, I’m sure I’ve seen it said that the relevant date they need to be a minor is the date of application, not the date it’s processed?
My child’s was submitted immediately after the other parent got citizenship. I was delayed because I mysteriously lost a chunk of time with SEF/AIMA so it’s just a coincidence that it was more or less the same time.
If they have been resident on any basis (not just GV) for the required length of time, yes. BTW it looks like language and close connection are also already creeping into renewals - I’ve seen reports of people being asked to show proof that they are learning the language. If your 18 year old has done the time there is no need to be unmarried or in higher ed, or dependent in any way … they’re treated as any other adult 6.1 applicant.
100%. Also slightly different criteria at 13 and 16. For example, no criminal record required at 15 (because Portugal’s age of criminal liability is 16).
