Does Portugal allow dual citizenship, or do you have to give up your other nationality?

Checked on 2026-10-25

Portugal allows dual citizenship. The Ministry of Justice's guide says you do not have to give up another nationality to acquire Portuguese nationality, although the other country's law may require you to. Under the Nationality Law, if you hold Portuguese and another nationality, only the Portuguese one counts under Portuguese law.

Key facts

What	The source says	Source
Can a Portuguese citizen hold other nationalities?	Yes, Portuguese law allows it	IRN guide “Como obter a nacionalidade portuguesa”, introduction
Must you renounce your nationality to become Portuguese?	No	IRN guide, introduction
Your other country’s rules	Other countries’ laws may require you to give up Portuguese nationality to keep or acquire theirs	IRN guide, introduction
Which nationality Portugal looks at	If one of your nationalities is Portuguese, only that one counts under Portuguese law	Lei 37/81, art. 27
Giving up Portuguese nationality	A person who is also a national of another State loses Portuguese nationality by declaring they do not want to be Portuguese	Lei 37/81, art. 8

What the Ministry of Justice says

The nationality guide of the Ministry of Justice (published by the Institute of Registries and Notary, IRN) says Portuguese law allows a Portuguese citizen to have other nationalities, and “therefore, it is not necessary to give up another nationality to acquire Portuguese nationality”. The same guide warns that the laws of other countries may require you to give up Portuguese nationality to hold theirs, and tells applicants to check the law of the country where they were born or whose nationality they hold. The guide was last updated on 3 July 2025 and is marked as being updated after the 2026 amendment.

What the law says

The Nationality Law does not list renouncing a foreign nationality among the conditions for naturalisation in art. 6. Art. 27 says that if someone has two or more nationalities and one of them is Portuguese, only the Portuguese one is relevant under Portuguese law.

On giving up Portuguese nationality, art. 8 says people who are also nationals of another State lose Portuguese nationality when they declare that they do not want to be Portuguese.

Sources

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2026-10-25: Page created

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