They want to increase the mandatory period of residence in the country for citizenship from five to ten years. And it will become much more difficult to move for family reunification.
What Happened
Portugal is preparing to tighten the conditions for obtaining citizenship, increasing the mandatory period of residence in the country from five to ten years. This decision was announced by António Leitão Amaro, Minister to the President of the Council of Ministers, as part of a comprehensive reform of the country's immigration system. The new rules, whose effective date has not been announced, are aimed at creating a more orderly and sustainable migration regime.
At the same time, the government is introducing additional requirements for family reunification, especially for citizens of non-EU countries. From now on, applicants will have to prove financial independence and demonstrate a basic command of the Portuguese language. These measures are due to overloaded social services, which, according to officials, cannot cope with the current flow of migrants.
Another announced change: the period after applying for a residence permit until its approval in the future are not planned to count in the total length of residence. Now the 5-year period, sufficient to apply for citizenship, is counted from the moment of application for a Golden Visa.
Features
For labour migrants who have a valid contract and social insurance contributions, there is a simplified procedure for obtaining a residence permit. At the same time, the authorities continue the digitalisation of immigration processes - from January 2025, all documents under the Golden Visa programme will be accepted exclusively in electronic form, and the biometric registration procedure will become automated.
These changes were part of the election programme of Prime Minister Luis Montenegro and are being implemented through the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA). The agency's new digital portal has already reduced processing times by 50 per cent, which is particularly important against the backdrop of the 1.4 million citizenship requests received over the past six years.
Meanings
Experts say the reform aims to selectively screen migrants, with a focus on skilled professionals, returnees and investors. The authorities expect the new rules to help balance migration flows with the real needs of the Portuguese economy and the capacity of the country's social infrastructure. At the same time, mechanisms allowing for accelerated processing for the most demanded categories of foreigners will be retained.
At the moment, the Portuguese programme is open to citizens of all countries, it is considered the fastest for those wishing to obtain a passport in the EU in the future. Since 2023, the programme does not include the option of obtaining a residence permit through the purchase of real estate, but there is an opportunity to invest from €200 thousand in cultural projects, from €500 thousand in foundations and Portuguese companies.
