Key figures — as of 2026-09-27: Naturalisation residency requirement rose from 5 years to 7 years (EU/CPLP nationals) or 10 years (all others) — Organic Law No. 1/2026, in force since 19 May 2026 — the clock now starts from the date the residence permit is issued, not the application date — no general grandfathering for pending residents, only applications already filed before 19 May 2026 keep the old 5-year rule.
Four months in, the maths is landing
It's been over four months since Portugal's overhauled Nationality Law took effect, and the practical fallout is only now becoming clear to the people it affects most: long-term residents, Golden Visa holders and anyone who moved to Portugal counting on a five-year path to a passport. The revised law was published in the Diário da República as Organic Law No. 1/2026 on 18 May and entered into force the following day, increasing the minimum legal residence period for naturalisation from five years to seven years for EU and CPLP nationals, and ten years for citizens of other states.
There's no soft landing for people already living here. New applicants are fully subject to the new 7- or 10-year rules, and current residents who have not yet applied for citizenship are also subject to the longer timelines, regardless of when they began living in Portugal. The only people spared are those with a nationality application already filed. Pending nationality applications filed on or before 18 May 2026 remain under the prior Lei 37/81 regime under the Artigo 7.º.2 transitional rule.
Why the start date matters as much as the number
The headline figures — 7 and 10 — aren't the only change that matters. The law also tightens how residence time is calculated by counting only periods of lawful residence supported by valid work/residence permits, and by starting the clock on the date the residence permit is issued rather than the date of application. For anyone who spent months, or a year-plus, waiting on AIMA to approve their initial residence permit before it was even issued, that limbo period no longer counts toward citizenship.
Golden Visa investors are in a particularly awkward spot. For residency-stage Golden Visa holders who have not yet filed a nationality application, the statute is silent on whether residency time already accrued counts toward the new clock, and AIMA has not yet published guidance while the government has 90 days to issue the updated Regulamento da Nacionalidade. The investment programme itself hasn't changed — the Golden Visa residency programme remains unchanged — but the passport at the end of it is now a much longer wait.
GrowIN's calculation: the real gap is bigger than "five extra years"
Here's the number our editorial team thinks matters more than the raw 5-to-10 jump: because the clock starts at permit issuance rather than application, and AIMA's own processing times for Golden Visa and residence permit files commonly run 12 to 36 months, a non-EU investor who applies today may not see their permit issued — and their citizenship clock start — until well into 2027 or 2028. Add the 10-year requirement on top of that, and the realistic window from first application to passport eligibility stretches toward 12–13 years for many applicants, not the 10 the headline number suggests. One legal analysis reached a similar conclusion independently: when this delay is added to the new 10-year requirement, the actual period from arrival in Portugal to citizenship eligibility may now exceed 12 or 13 years.
As GrowIN Portugal Editorial puts it: the new law didn't just move the finish line — it moved the starting gun to a date the applicant doesn't control.
Language and integration requirements tighten too
It isn't only about years on the calendar. Applicants must demonstrate knowledge of Portuguese language, culture, history, national symbols, civic rights and duties, and the political system, plus a formal declaration of commitment to democratic principles. A2-level Portuguese remains the language bar, and the criminal-record threshold has been tightened alongside it.
Citizenship by descent is unaffected by any of this. Applicants tracing nationality through a parent or grandparent still face no residency requirement under the Article 6 route — only proof of lineage, effective ties to the community, and A2 Portuguese for the grandparent line. Anyone with Portuguese ancestry should treat that route as entirely separate from the naturalisation timeline discussed here; see our /news/ hub for how the two paths compare.
What to watch next
The government has a 90-day window to publish the updated Regulamento da Nacionalidade, which should clarify exactly how residence time accrued before 19 May 2026 is treated, and how Golden Visa holders mid-process are handled. Until that regulation lands, anyone weighing a move to Portugal for eventual citizenship should plan around the 10-year figure — not the old five — and build in AIMA's processing delays as a separate, additional cost of time. For a full breakdown of routes to a Portuguese passport, including the descent and marriage options that weren't touched by this reform, see our visas guide.
Nobody with residency already in progress can undo the change now in force; the only real lever left is documenting exactly when your permit was issued, since that date decides where you stand on the new clock.