What exactly is going on in Portugal with the citizenship rules? Is it a 5 or 10-year requirement of residence in the country before applying for naturalization? On December 15, 2025, Portugal’s Constitutional Court issued a major ruling on the newly approved amendments to the Nationality Law.
After a rare preventive review requested by the Socialist Party (PS), the Court declared four key provisions unconstitutional, which means the law, as written, cannot move forward and must return to the Portuguese Parliament for correction.
The Court blocked the following elements:
- An automatic denial of citizenship for people who received criminal sentences above a defined threshold.
- The use of vague concepts, such as “manifest fraud,” could be used to deny nationality without clear legal definitions.
- A rule allowing cancellation of nationality based on undefined ideas of “rejecting the national community.”
- A change that would affect pending applications by applying the new rules at the moment of decision rather than at the time of filing.
The Court also rejected a separate decree that would have introduced loss of nationality as an accessory criminal penalty, stating it violated constitutional principles.
Importantly, the judges did not strike down the extension of the residency requirement, meaning that the shift from five years to ten years (and from five to seven years for CPLP and EU citizens) remains constitutionally valid.
Current and Future Consequences of the Court’s Ruling
1- The Law Is Not in Force
Because these provisions were found unconstitutional, the entire reform package is now on hold. The nationality law amendments cannot be enacted until Parliament revises the text, removes or corrects the unconstitutional articles, and sends it back through the legislative process.
Until that happens:
- The current Nationality Law remains in effect.
- Citizenship after five years of legal residence continues to be the rule, at least for now.
- No transitional rules have been established.
- There is no clarity yet on how residence time will be counted once the law is finalized.
2- What Parliament Must Do Next
The path forward includes several mandatory steps:
- Parliament must revise or remove the unconstitutional provisions.
- The revised law must then be voted on again.
- The President may accept, veto, or send the law to the Constitutional Court once more.
- Only after presidential approval and publication can the new law take effect.
Given the December timing and the upcoming holiday recess, no legislative movement is expected before January 2026.
How This Affects Current and Future Applicants
1- If You Have Not Yet Applied for Citizenship
If the revised law eventually enters into force with the same timeline extension, you should prepare for:
2- New Residency Requirements
- 10 years of legal residence for most applicants in Portugal
- 7 years for CPLP citizens and EU nationals
3- How Time May Be Counted
The proposal states that the legally recognized residence period would begin:
- Not from the date you applied, but
- From the date your first residence permit is issued
This point remains confusing because the Court’s decision does not clearly resolve the controversy around how residence time should be calculated. The government and media outlets have interpreted this differently, and only the final version of the law will provide certainty.
4- New Eligibility Criteria
If enacted, the reform will introduce:
- A2-level Portuguese language requirement (unchanged)
- A new civic knowledge test on culture, institutions, history, and rights
- A formal declaration of democratic values
- A clean criminal record (maximum sentence threshold lowered from 3 years to 2 years)
- Proof of financial stability in the form of a job or business
- No UN or EU sanctions
- Elimination of the Sephardic ancestry citizenship route
- The ability for the state to revoke nationality in cases of serious crime (the Court did strike down one version of this, so it will likely be rewritten)
Can You Still Obtain Permanent Residency in 5 Years?
Yes — Permanent Residency Remains Unchanged
Even if the citizenship timeline becomes longer, the path to Permanent Residency after five years of legal residence remains fully intact and continues to apply for the most resident categories.
This makes Permanent Residency more relevant than ever, especially for individuals who may face a significantly longer wait for citizenship.
Timeline of Key Events (2025–2026)
| Date | Key Events |
| 6 June 2025 | Government presents major reforms, including extending residency requirements. |
| 4–10 July 2025 | Parliament begins debate and sends proposals to expert committee. |
| 28 October 2025 | Parliament approves core amendments. |
| 13 November 2025 | Socialist Party requests preventive constitutional review. |
| 15 December 2025 | Constitutional Court declares four provisions unconstitutional. |
| January 2026 (expected) | Parliament resumes and begins revising the law. |
The New 10-Year Citizenship Path (If Approved)
Although the law is not yet in effect, the central change — extending residency requirements — was declared constitutional, which means lawmakers are likely to keep it.
Proposed Citizenship Timeline
| Applicant Category | Current Rule | Proposed Rule |
| Most applicants | 5 years | 10 years |
| CPLP citizens | 5 years | 7 years |
| EU nationals | 5 years | 7 years |
This shift is now the centerpiece of the debate around Portuguese citizenship in 5 or 10 Years, and it represents the biggest reform to Portugal’s nationality rules in decades.
What Remains Uncertain
Several crucial issues are still unresolved:
- How exactly will residence time be counted (date of application vs. date of permit issuance)?
- Whether applicants who already have years of residence under today’s rules will receive transitional protections.
- How pending Golden Visa and D7 cases will be assessed once the law is finalized.
- The final form of the criminal record, fraud, and nationality cancellation rules.
Only after Parliament reconvenes and revises the law will these questions be answered.
Portugal’s nationality reform is significant, complex, and far from finished. The Constitutional Court’s ruling has paused the process, but not stopped it, and the eventual extension of the residency requirement to ten years still appears likely. Anyone planning long-term residency or future citizenship should stay informed and prepare for both short-term uncertainty and long-term change.