How many years of legal residence do you need for Portuguese citizenship?

Checked on 2026-10-25

Portugal's Nationality Law, as amended by Lei Orgânica 1/2026, requires at least seven years of legal residence for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU citizens, and ten years for everyone else. Separate periods can be added up only if they fall within 9 or 12 years. Applications already pending on 19 May 2026 follow the previous rules.

Key facts

What	The law says	Source
Nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries (CPLP) and EU citizens	At least 7 years of legal residence in Portugal	Lei 37/81, art. 6.1(b)
Nationals of all other countries	At least 10 years of legal residence	Lei 37/81, art. 6.1(b)
Stateless people	At least 4 years of legal residence	Lei 37/81, art. 6.3
When it is checked	The requirements must be met at the time of the application	Lei 37/81, art. 6.1
Breaks in residence	Periods can be added up, continuous or not, if they fall within 6 (stateless), 9 (CPLP/EU) or 12 (others) years	Lei 37/81, art. 15.3
What counts as legal residence	Being in Portugal with your situation regularised under any title, visa or authorisation of the foreigners’ law or the asylum law	Lei 37/81, art. 15.1
Applications already filed	Procedures pending when Lei Orgânica 1/2026 took effect (19 May 2026) follow the previous version of the law	Lei Orgânica 1/2026, arts. 7.2 and 8

The rule since 19 May 2026

The Nationality Law says the Government grants Portuguese nationality to adults who, at the time of the application, have lived legally in Portugal for at least seven years if they are nationals of a country whose official language is Portuguese or citizens of an EU Member State, or ten years if they are nationals of any other country. This wording comes from Lei Orgânica 1/2026, published in the Diário da República on 18 May 2026, which entered into force the next day. The Ministry of Justice’s nationality page also states that the changes enter into force on 19 May.

Adding up periods of residence

Your years do not have to be continuous. The law adds up all periods of legal residence in Portugal, “seguidos ou interpolados” (continuous or not), as long as they all fall within a maximum window:

9 years for CPLP and EU nationals (who need 7);
12 years for nationals of other countries (who need 10);
6 years for stateless people (who need 4).

What counts as legal residence

The law counts the time you are in Portugal “with your situation regularised” under any of the titles, visas or authorisations in the foreigners’ law (Lei 23/2007) or the asylum law. Special legal-residence regimes from EU law and CPLP agreements are not affected.

If you applied before 19 May 2026

Lei Orgânica 1/2026 says administrative procedures pending on the day it entered into force are decided under the Nationality Law as it stood before the amendment.

The other naturalisation conditions (language and culture test, knowledge of rights and duties, criminal record, means of subsistence) are in art. 6.1 of the same law.
The Government must update the Nationality Regulation (Decreto-Lei 237-A/2006) within 90 days of the law’s publication (Lei Orgânica 1/2026, art. 4).

Sources

Change history

2026-10-25: Page created

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