Obtaining Portuguese citizenship became faster in 2024
Published at: 30/01/2024 08:51 am
You can become a citizen of Portugal in five years; the time is counting from the moment that you apply for the residency. As the time limit of the Portuguese naturalisation process includes the lengthy processing time, the waiting period for Portuguese passports has become significantly shorter, with more or less one to two years.
How long does it take to become a Portuguese citizen?
Independent of the type of residency process, it took 7 to 8 years to become a Portuguese citizen. Even the investors' golden residency procedures were years late because of the many applicants. From 2024, you need only a net of five years to obtain the deep red colour EU passport with golden print written only in Portuguese.
As the tenth amendment of the relevant legislation, the Portuguese Assembly changed the Naturalisation law ( Art 15.) on 5 January 2024.
There was a strong need to change the law because the Portuguese immigration system had to change. Following a severe series of scandals (corruption, mistreatment, torture, murder and other horror crimes), even the name of the Immigration Authority (Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras – The Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service) changed to AIMA - Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo).
However, the backlog of the SEF created an unequal situation for many residents, even for the investors, as many had already been residents in Portugal for a more extended period but, due to a mere delay on the part of the services, saw other people who had been residents for less time gain access to Portuguese nationality sooner, due to the mere fact that they had received their residence permits earlier. Now, the AIMA considers the waiting time for approval of the residence application during this period.
If you wish to become a Portuguese citizen, become a resident with our support and obtain your Portuguese passport in 2029! As a resident of Portugal, you can stay and live in the European Union and enjoy the freedom of travel and doing business in the EU. We have supported applicant investors for the Golden Visa Program since its beginning. Ask for a consultation here!