8 Ways To Get Citizenship in Portugal
1. Invest in Portugal Golden Visa
One of the most straightforward ways to obtain Portuguese residency and citizenship is via Portugal's Golden Visa program.
Investors seeking a pathway to EU citizenship may do so by investing in the local economy, buying property in Portugal, creating a business, or making a contribution to research or art.
Upon approval of the application, individuals are granted a residency permit and can in 5 years apply for Portuguese citizenship.
How to Get Portugal Citizenship by Investment
Portugal offers a variety of investment options, with different investment and contribution amounts, so that you can choose the most appropriate route in your circumstances.
You first need to acquire Portugal’s residence permit through one of the investment options before qualifying for citizenship.
As you can see, Portugal’s investment options are varied and often inexpensive. For similar European programs, such as Ireland's Golden Visa, you must invest a minimum of €1 million in an Irish enterprise or an investment fund, while your net worth must be at least €2 million.
Portuguese Investment Visa Requirements
Apart from meeting the investment requirements for one of your chosen options, you must also ensure that you can satisfy additional criteria set out by Portugal’s immigration laws.
Who Can Apply for an Investment Visa in Portugal?
In order to apply for an investment visa in Portugal, you must be at least 18 years old and hold a nationality outside of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA), or Switzerland.
Related Content: Differences between the EU, the Schengen Area, and the EEA.
In addition, you must have a clean criminal record from your country of origin or of the country (countries) where you have resided for more than a year. The certificate must be issued no more than 3 months before submitting your application.
The applicant’s funds for investment must also originate from outside of Portugal.
What Are the Conditions for Obtaining Portuguese Citizenship?
As we mentioned above, there is no direct way to apply for Portuguese citizenship. The Portugal Golden Visa is primarily a residency-by-investment program.
However, those wishing to acquire a Portuguese passport can become eligible after holding residency for at least 5 years and satisfying several additional requirements, including:
- Spending at least 7 days physically in Portugal every year for the whole five-year period (35 days in total)
- Obtaining A2 level in the Portuguese language (*this is required only for citizenship, not residency)
- Paying citizenship application fees as set out by the government
- Providing an up-to-date criminal record certificate
- Supplying details of current residency permit and proof of continuous residency for a minimum of 5 years
Submitting other documents, such as your passport, birth certificate, and list of countries you have previously lived in.
2. Via Naturalization
Citizenship by naturalization is available to people who have resided in Portugal for at least 5 years. It is a far longer and more complicated process for Portuguese citizenship than the Golden Visa route.
The applicant must primarily demonstrate that they are sufficiently assimilated into Portuguese society, mainly speaking an acceptable level of Portuguese.
You must either take an exam to demonstrate your level or prove you were born in and/or lived in another Portuguese-speaking country for 10 years. Once all the required documents are in order, you must send a form (completed in Portuguese) requesting citizenship to the Ministry of Justice. The application fee is €250.
To apply for citizenship by naturalization, you need the following:
- A passport
- Your birth certificate
- Proof that you have lived in Portugal for at least 5 years
- At least an A2 level in Portuguese
- A criminal record check from any country you have lived in after 16 years of age.
3. By Marriage to a Portuguese Citizen
It is possible to obtain Portuguese citizenship in less than 5 years if you have been in a marriage, or common law relationship, with a Portuguese citizen for at least 3 years. You do not need to reside in Portugal in order to be eligible, so you can apply even if you and your spouse met and live elsewhere.
You do, however, need to show an interest in Portugal and, indeed, demonstrate some Portuguese to qualify. The application fee is €250. (Please note: you are ineligible for this citizenship route if you have voluntarily served in the military of another county.)
To apply for citizenship by marriage, you need the following:
- A marriage certificate OR a legal document proving you and your partner have lived together in a marriage-like union for at least 3 years
- Your birth certificate and the birth certificate of your partner
- Proof of your nationality
- A criminal record check from any country you have lived in after 16 years of age.
For more details on what you need in each situation, you might need to consult an expert or official government sources.
4. Citizenship by Descent
If you can prove your ancestry ties, you might be eligible to apply for Portuguese citizenship.
However, some residency requirements for yourself and your parents differ depending on the year of your birth.
If you were born in 1981 or later, your mother or father legally resided in Portugal for at least 5 years, and had not worked in the public service, you can apply for citizenship by descent. The fee for this route is €250.
You are also automatically eligible if you have at least one Portuguese parent who was a Portuguese national when you were born or a grandparent who has maintained their citizenship regardless of their country of residence. In this circumstance, your application is free.
To apply for citizenship by birth or descent, you will need some or all of the following:
- Your birth certificate
- The birth certificate of your Portuguese parent
- The birth certificate of your Portuguese grandparent
- To declare your desire to obtain Portuguese nationality
- To demonstrate your connection to the Portuguese community, within Portugal or in a historical community abroad
- A criminal record check from any country you have lived in after 16 years of age.
5. The Sephardic Jewish Opportunity
This route to citizenship is exclusively for those who identify as Sephardim – that is, historically Jewish people of Spanish or Portuguese descent. This route was opened in 2015 to acknowledge the connection of Sephardic Jewish people worldwide, who were expelled in the late 15th century.
Applicants must demonstrate a connection to Portugal through ancestry or culture, notably the use of the Judeo-Spanish language, Ladino. You can prove your connection to the current Jewish community in Portugal or a historical Sephardic community abroad.
To apply for citizenship as a Sephardim, you need the following:
- Your birth certificate
- ‘A description of the facts’ that prove your connection to the Sephardic community
- Proof of membership in a Jewish community in Portugal or abroad
- A criminal record check from any country you have lived in after 16 years of age.
6. Portugal Citizenship for Citizens of Former Portuguese Colonies
If you are an individual born in the Portuguese ex-colonies, you might be eligible to apply for citizenship in Portugal. These former colonies include Angola, Cape Verde, Portuguese India, Guinea Bissau, East Timor, Macao, Mozambique, São Tomé, and Príncipe.
To apply for a Portuguese passport via this route, you must demonstrate that you are either the descendant of Portuguese nationals within ex-colonies or a part of a community that adheres to Portuguese values and customs.
All applications under this pathway must go through Portugal’s Ministry of Justice. Besides, you need to have no criminal convictions, be at least 18 years old and provide documents, such as your and your parents legalized birth certificates and other papers proving your connection to Portuguese descent.
The standard fee of €250 also must be paid when submitting the application.
