# Citizenship Law: Portugal's 7–10 Year Rule Survives, Penalty Clause Doesn't

> Portugal's naturalisation overhaul is now law since 19 May 2026, but a related penalty clause was struck down twice by the Constitutional Court.

- Source: https://www.growinportugal.com/news/portugal-s-citizenship-timeline-reform-heads-back-to-parliam-2026-10-01
- Publisher: GrowIN Portugal (https://www.growinportugal.com)
- Published: 2026-10-01
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-01
- Language: en

> **Key figures — as of 2026-10-01:** Naturalisation residency now **7 years** (EU/CPLP nationals) or **10 years** (everyone else), up from the old 5-year rule — in force since **19 May 2026** — Constitutional Court struck down **4 provisions** on 15 December 2025 and the loss-of-nationality penalty clause **twice** (15 Dec 2025 and 8 May 2026) — IRN reports roughly **516,000** pending nationality applications, with the ombudsman logging a **177%** rise in nationality-related complaints in 2026.

## A law that went to court twice and came back changed

Portugal's naturalisation overhaul is now in force, but it took a Constitutional Court intervention, a presidential veto threat, and a second parliamentary vote to get there. For foreigners doing the maths on when they'll qualify for a Portuguese passport, the headline number — residency requirements roughly doubling, from five years to seven or ten — survived the legal fight intact. What didn't survive, at least not yet, is the separate plan to strip nationality from people convicted of serious crimes after naturalising.

Parliament approved the reforms on October 28 with 157 votes from PSD, Chega, IL, CDS-PP, and JPP against 64 opposing votes, extending naturalization timelines from five to ten years for non-EU, non-CPLP nationals. The Socialist Party immediately challenged it before the Constitutional Court. The court struck down four of seven contested nationality law provisions, yet upheld the ten-year citizenship timeline. The rejected provisions covered automatic citizenship denial for criminal convictions exceeding two years, vaguely defined fraud language, nationality cancellation for undefined "rejection of national community" behaviors, and rules assessing pending applications under requirements at application submission rather than decision dates. A related Penal Code decree fared worse: the court also struck down, by unanimous vote, a separate Penal Code decree that would have established loss of nationality as an accessory penalty for serious crimes.

## Round two: Parliament tries again

The revised Nationality Law was approved after the Constitutional Court had struck down provisions of the first version in December, with 152 votes in favour, 64 against and one abstention on 1 April 2026. Lawmakers softened the criminal-record bar — reducing the conviction threshold from five to three years as a factor blocking naturalisation — and, crucially, eliminated the provision that would have started residency deadlines counting only from the date a residence title was granted, rather than from when it was requested, addressing the Court's objection that this broke promises already made to pending applicants.

The required legal residence period for naturalisation, currently five years, rises to seven years for citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries and the EU, or ten years for nationals of other countries. President Seguro promulgated the law on 3 May, and it entered into force as Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 on 19 May 2026.

The companion penal-code decree wasn't so lucky. The Constitutional Court again unanimously declared the accessory penalty of loss of nationality unconstitutional, in a second version of the decree approved by parliament, on 8 May. Firebrand Chega leader André Ventura reacted by accusing the Court of "substituting itself for the majority of the population" and calling for a referendum. That decree is now, effectively, back at square one — a third attempt looks politically likely but has no confirmed timetable.

## GrowIN's take: what the extra years actually cost you

Run the numbers and the practical bite is substantial. A non-EU, non-CPLP applicant who landed on a D7 or D8 visa in, say, 2023 and expected to apply for citizenship around 2028 under the old five-year rule is now looking at 2033 at the earliest — a five-year slide in the clock, assuming continuous legal residence and no change in the rules in between. For CPLP and EU nationals the delay is shorter but still real: two extra years. **GrowIN Portugal Editorial's view: "The rule that matters most to your citizenship clock isn't the headline number — it's whether your pending file was lodged before or after 19 May 2026."**

## Why the backlog makes this worse

The legal uncertainty has landed on top of an already overwhelmed system. There are around 516,000 pending nationality applications at the Institute of Registries and Notary Affairs, with an average wait of three years. Complaints have spiked accordingly: nationality-related complaints to the ombudsman rose 177%, with delays exceeding four years aggravated by a year-long stoppage of AIMA's residency-verification platform.

## What to watch next

Three things worth tracking from here. First, whether the government brings a third version of the loss-of-nationality penalty back to Parliament, and whether a two-thirds majority exists to override further Constitutional Court objections. Second, how IRN and AIMA actually implement the grandfather clause for pre-19 May applications — early reports already describe confusion over documentation. Third, whether the backlog triggers any transitional relief for people caught mid-process when the rules shifted under them.

None of this changes the advice for anyone currently counting down to naturalisation: get professional confirmation of which rule set applies to your file, because the date stamped on your application now matters more than ever. For a fuller breakdown of how this fits alongside residence permits and visa routes, see our [visas](/visas/) hub — and if you need help tracking where your own application sits in the queue, GrowIN's team can help you check.

## Sources

- [IMI Daily](https://www.imidaily.com/europe/portugals-constitutional-court-strikes-down-four-nationality-law-provisions/)
- [RTP](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/politica/presidente-promulga-decreto-que-altera-lei-da-nacionalidade-mas-desejava-maior-consenso_n1738711)
- [Diário de Notícias](https://www.dn.pt/sociedade/perda-de-nacionalidade-a-quem-cometer-crimes-inconstitucional-declara-tc)
- [Correio da Manhã](https://www.cmjornal.pt/politica/detalhe/o-que-muda-na-nova-lei-da-nacionalidade-aprovada-pelo-parlamento)

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© GrowIN Portugal. Cite as: GrowIN Portugal, "Citizenship Law: Portugal's 7–10 Year Rule Survives, Penalty Clause Doesn't", https://www.growinportugal.com/news/portugal-s-citizenship-timeline-reform-heads-back-to-parliam-2026-10-01