What are the requirements for Portuguese citizenship by naturalisation?

Checked on 2026-10-25

Portugal's Nationality Law grants naturalisation to adults with seven years of legal residence (CPLP and EU nationals) or ten years (others) who prove Portuguese language, culture, history and civic knowledge, declare adherence to democratic principles, have no serious criminal conviction or security risk, are not under UN or EU sanctions, and can support themselves.

Key facts

What	The law says	Source
Age	Adult under Portuguese law	Lei 37/81, art. 6.1(a)
Residence	At least 7 years of legal residence (CPLP and EU nationals) or 10 years (others)	Lei 37/81, art. 6.1(b)
Language and culture	Proof, by test or certificate, of sufficient knowledge of Portuguese language and culture, history and national symbols	Lei 37/81, art. 6.1(c)
Civic knowledge	Sufficient knowledge of the fundamental rights and duties of Portuguese nationality and of the political organisation of the State	Lei 37/81, art. 6.1(d)
Declaration	A solemn declaration of adherence to the fundamental principles of the democratic rule of law	Lei 37/81, art. 6.1(e)
Criminal record	No final conviction to an effective prison sentence of more than 3 years for terrorism, violent or especially violent crime, highly organised crime, crimes against State security or aiding illegal immigration	Lei 37/81, art. 6.1(f)
Security	Not a danger or threat to national security or defence	Lei 37/81, art. 6.1(g)
Sanctions	Not subject to restrictive measures adopted by the UN or the EU	Lei 37/81, art. 6.1(h)
Means	Capacity to support yourself	Lei 37/81, art. 6.1(i)
Who decides	The Minister of Justice, on your application	Lei 37/81, art. 7.1

All conditions at once, at the time of applying

The law says the Government “grants” Portuguese nationality to people who meet all of these conditions cumulatively, at the time of the application. This is the version of art. 6 introduced by Lei Orgânica 1/2026, in force since 19 May 2026.

Language

The law requires proof of sufficient knowledge of Portuguese language and culture, history and national symbols, through a test or a certificate. Nationals of countries whose official language is Portuguese are presumed to meet the language part, unless their lack of command of Portuguese is manifest to the services. The law does not set the test level itself; Lei Orgânica 1/2026 requires the Government to amend the Nationality Regulation within 90 days of 18 May 2026.

Criminal record

You prove you have no disqualifying conviction with criminal record certificates from Portugal and from your country of birth, your country of nationality, and every country where you lived after reaching the age of criminal responsibility. The criminal-record condition is a rebuttable presumption: the Public Prosecutor weighs the sentence, the type of crime, whether it was intentional, the time since the crime, any reoffending and your integration in Portugal. If the Prosecutor decides against you, you can ask a court to set that aside; the application is suspended until the Prosecutor or the court decides.

The procedure

Naturalisation is granted by decision of the Minister of Justice on your application. The process and its documents are not subject to the Stamp Duty Code. The law requires the collection of a facial image, fingerprints and height from applicants.

Applications pending on 19 May 2026 follow the previous version of the law (Lei Orgânica 1/2026, art. 7.2).
Separate periods of residence count only within a 9-year (CPLP/EU) or 12-year (others) window (Lei 37/81, art. 15.3).

Sources

Change history

2026-10-25: Page created

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