Portugal Citizenship Now Takes 10 Years: The 2026 Rules
Since 19 May 2026, most foreigners need 10 years of legal residence in Portugal before they can apply for Portuguese citizenship by naturalisation, double the old 5 years. Citizens of EU countries and of Portuguese-speaking (CPLP) countries need 7 years, and the time you spent waiting for your first residence permit no longer counts. Applications filed with the registry office (IRN) by 18 May 2026 are still decided under the old 5-year rules.
Key Takeaways
- 10 years of legal residence for most nationalities, 7 years for EU and CPLP citizens, 4 years for stateless people (Lei Organica 1/2026, in force since 19 May 2026).
- The 2024 rule that counted the wait between applying for a residence permit and receiving it was revoked. Plan from the date your first residence permit was issued.
- Only applications already filed by 18 May 2026 keep the old rules. People who had passed 5 years but had not applied are on the new clock.
- New requirements beyond language: a culture and civics test (not yet regulated), a declaration of adherence to democratic principles, and proof you can support yourself.
- Permanent residence after 5 years is unchanged and is now the realistic medium-term goal for D7, D8 and golden visa holders.
- Applying is only the start: 690,480 nationality applications were pending on 30 June 2026, and residence-based cases take about 3 years to decide.
Weighing Portugal against other countries? The Relocation Wizard matches you with destinations by budget, visa options and lifestyle in a few minutes.
What changed: the old rules vs the 2026 rules
Parliament approved the final text on 1 April 2026, President António José Seguro promulgated it on 3 May, and it was published on 18 May 2026. An earlier version stalled in December 2025, when the Constitutional Court (ruling 1133/2025) struck down four provisions, including a transitional rule for pending applications. The longer residence periods were not among them.
| Rule | Before 19 May 2026 | From 19 May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Legal residence needed (most nationalities) | 5 years | 10 years |
| EU and CPLP citizens (Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde and others) | 5 years | 7 years |
| Time waiting for your first residence permit | Counted, from the date you applied, if the permit was granted | Not counted (article 15(4) revoked) |
| Language | Portuguese, normally proven at A2 level | Portuguese language plus culture, history and national symbols, by test or certificate |
| Civic knowledge | Not required | Rights and duties of citizens and the political organisation of the state |
| Declaration | None | Solemn declaration of adherence to the democratic rule of law |
| Means of subsistence | Not required | Must be able to support yourself |
| Child born in Portugal to foreign parents (by declaration) | A parent had lived there 1 year, legal status not required | A parent had legally resided there for 5 years at the birth |
| Sephardic descendants route | Open, with tightened proof rules | Abolished |
| Spouse or partner of a Portuguese citizen | After 3 years of marriage or union | Unchanged at 3 years |
You can read the full amended articles in the consolidated Nationality Law (article 6 for naturalisation, article 15 for how residence is counted).
How the 10 years are counted now
Article 15 of the Nationality Law defines legal residence as time in Portugal with a regularised status under any residence title, visa or authorisation issued under the foreigners law or the asylum law. Three details decide your real timeline:
- The waiting time is gone. After a 2024 amendment, the law also counted the time between applying for a temporary residence permit and receiving it, as long as the permit was granted. That provision was revoked, so most advisers now plan from the issue date of the first residence permit. Article 15 also mentions visas, but do not count time on a residence visa until the IRN's practice is clear.
- Breaks are allowed, within a window. Periods of legal residence are added together even if they are interrupted, but they must all fall within a 12-year window (9 years for EU and CPLP citizens, 6 for stateless people). So a non-EU applicant needs 10 years of legal residence inside any 12-year stretch.
- Paperwork gaps can cost time. Keep every residence card, renewal receipt and AIMA appointment confirmation, and get advice on any period when your permit had expired.
Worked examples
| Your situation | Earliest application under the new law |
|---|---|
| US citizen, D7 visa, first residence permit issued June 2023, no gaps | June 2033 |
| Brazilian citizen (CPLP), first permit issued September 2024 | September 2031 |
| Golden visa investor who applied in 2022 and received the first card in 2025 | 2035 (under the 2024 rule, the clock would have started in 2022) |
| UK citizen with a permit from March 2021 who had not filed by 18 May 2026 | March 2031, even though 5 years had already passed |
The last two rows explain the anger. In May 2026 more than 500 golden visa holders, mostly Americans, announced a collective lawsuit arguing the clock should start 90 days after a residence application. As of October 2026 no court has changed the rules, so plan on the 10-year count.
Who still gets the 5-year rule
Only people whose naturalisation application was already pending at the IRN when the law came into force on 19 May 2026. The Ministry of Justice confirmed that those files are decided under the old text, a protection the Constitutional Court had insisted on. Nobody else is grandfathered: not people who had passed 5 years but had not applied, and not people who were a few months short.
Expect a long wait either way. Ministry of Justice figures reported by Observador show 690,480 nationality applications pending on 30 June 2026, 38% more than a year earlier, after filings jumped 74% ahead of the deadline. In July 2026 the IRN's president put the delay for residence-based applications at about 3 years.
If you have a pending file, answer any IRN request for documents on time: a refused application can only be refiled under the 2026 law.
What it means for D7, D8 and golden visa holders
The nationality law does not care which visa you came on: what counts is legal residence. Figures as of October 2026, based on the 2026 minimum wage of EUR 920 a month:
| Route | Main requirement | Permanent residence | Citizenship (non-EU, non-CPLP) |
|---|---|---|---|
| D7 (pensions and passive income) | At least EUR 920 a month, plus 50% for a second adult and 30% per child | After 5 years | 10 years from the first permit |
| D8 (remote work) | Average income of at least EUR 3,680 a month (4 times the minimum wage) over the last 3 months | After 5 years | 10 years from the first permit |
| Golden visa (ARI) | EUR 500,000 in qualifying Portuguese funds or in research, EUR 250,000 in arts and heritage, or creating 10 jobs; the real estate routes closed in October 2023 | After 5 years | 10 years from the first card |
| Work visas and EU Blue Card | Job offer or employment contract | After 5 years | 10 years from the first permit |
Income thresholds come from the Portuguese visa portal. The D7 minimum is a legal floor, not a budget: the site's own data puts average rent in Portugal at about USD 1,470 a month, more than the whole D7 threshold. Run your numbers in the cost of living calculator.
D7 and D8 holders simply wait twice as long: a first permit issued in 2023 now points to 2033 instead of 2028. The visas themselves did not change.
Golden visa holders are hit hardest. The wait for the first card no longer counts, and the passport many investors were buying is now at least 10 years from that card. Golden visa time still counts as legal residence, and the low minimum stay (7 days in the first year, then 14 days in each 2-year period) has not changed. If citizenship was the main reason to invest, compare the alternatives in our golden visa guide first.
Permanent residence: the 5-year alternative
Permanent residence did not change in 2026. Under article 80 of the foreigners law (Lei 23/2007), you can apply after 5 years on temporary permits with an A2 Portuguese certificate, means of subsistence, housing, and no prison sentence over 1 year. The permit has no end date, but the card is renewed every 5 years. EU long-term resident status has similar conditions and makes a later move to another EU country easier.
| Permanent residence | Citizenship | |
|---|---|---|
| Earliest (non-EU, non-CPLP) | 5 years | 10 years |
| Live and work in Portugal indefinitely | Yes | Yes |
| Live and work anywhere in the EU | No (EU long-term status helps, with conditions) | Yes |
| Portuguese passport | No | Yes |
| Vote in national elections | No | Yes |
| Can be lost by long absence | Yes, after 24 months in a row or 30 months within 3 years | No |
For most D7 and D8 holders, permanent residence at year 5 is now the milestone to plan around while the citizenship clock keeps running.
The language and civic knowledge test
The law now asks you to prove, by test or certificate, knowledge of the Portuguese language, culture, history and national symbols, plus the rights and duties of citizens and how the state is organised. Where that stands as of October 2026:
- Language: the A2 certificate still works. Accepted proofs include the CIPLE exam (A2, run by the University of Lisbon), an A2 certificate from the state Portuguese Host Language (PLA) courses, or a Portuguese school certificate. CIPLE costs EUR 95 in 2026 and can be taken in Portugal or abroad.
- Culture and civics: not in operation yet. The government had 90 days from publication (to mid-August 2026) to update the Nationality Regulation. As of October 2026 no format, pass mark, operator or fee has been published, and DN Brasil reported in August that applicants had no way to prove the new requirements.
- CPLP citizens are presumed to speak Portuguese, but the culture and civics part applies to them too.
Get your A2 early: you need it for permanent residence at year 5 anyway.
How to apply when you are eligible
- Check your dates. Count from your first residence permit and make sure your 10 years (7 for EU and CPLP citizens) fall within the 12-year (9-year) window. AIMA can issue a certificate of legal residence if your cards do not show a clean history.
- Get the language certificate (CIPLE A2 or an accepted equivalent), plus the civics proof once it exists.
- Collect criminal record certificates from Portugal, your country of birth, your country of nationality and every country you lived in after age 16.
- Get your birth certificate apostilled or legalised, with a certified Portuguese translation.
- Prove you can support yourself. No document list exists yet, so keep tax returns, pension statements or payslips ready.
- File the application. Lawyers and solicitors must file online. You can also file yourself in person at a nationality desk (Balcao da Nacionalidade) or registry office, by post, or at a Portuguese consulate. The IRN fee is EUR 250 for adults and EUR 200 for minors.
- Keep renewing your residence permit while you wait. Your permit, not your pending application, is what lets you live, work and travel.
Be careful with older guides: many still say 5 years, and in October 2026 some official IRN pages were still marked as being updated.
Is Portugal still a good route to an EU passport?
At 10 years, Portugal moved from one of the fastest naturalisation routes in Western Europe to one of the slowest for non-EU citizens. Here is how it compares with other popular destinations, as of October 2026:
| Country | Standard residence for citizenship | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 10 years (7 for EU and CPLP citizens) | Dual citizenship allowed; about 3 years of processing on top |
| Spain | 10 years | 2 years for Latin American, Portuguese, Andorran, Filipino and Equatorial Guinean citizens |
| Italy | 10 years for non-EU citizens | A June 2025 referendum to cut it to 5 years failed on turnout |
| Germany | 5 years | B1 German; the 3-year fast track was abolished in October 2025 |
| France | 5 years | 2 years after a French higher education degree |
| Ireland | 5 years within the last 9 | The final year must be continuous |
Portugal does not ask you to give up your current nationality, but your home country may. The UK and the US allow dual citizenship. India does not, and under China's Nationality Law Chinese nationals settled abroad lose Chinese nationality when they take another. For them, permanent residence may be the better end point.
Portugal still suits you if: you are from a CPLP country such as Brazil (7 years, Portuguese presumed), you want to live there anyway and value permanent residence at 5 years, or you are retiring and a passport is a bonus. You can compare Portugal side by side with Spain, Germany or Ireland on cost, safety and healthcare.
It no longer suits you if: your main goal is an EU passport within 5 to 6 years, or you planned a low-presence golden visa mainly for citizenship. Germany, France and Ireland offer 5-year routes, though each expects you to live there and learn the language.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Portuguese citizenship take 10 years now?
Yes, for most nationalities. Since 19 May 2026 you need 10 years of legal residence to apply for naturalisation, or 7 years if you are a citizen of an EU country or a Portuguese-speaking (CPLP) country. Applications filed before that date are still decided under the 5-year rule.
I already have a residence permit. Does the new rule apply to me?
Yes, unless your naturalisation application was already filed with the IRN by 18 May 2026. Holding a permit, or having passed 5 years, does not protect you. Your clock runs from the issue date of your first residence permit, not from your visa application.
Do Brazilians and EU citizens need 10 years?
No. Citizens of EU member states and of CPLP countries (including Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and Cape Verde) need 7 years. CPLP citizens are also presumed to meet the language requirement, though they still need the other new requirements.
Can my child born in Portugal get citizenship?
Yes, if one parent had been legally resident in Portugal for at least 5 years at the birth (it was 1 year before May 2026). Otherwise the child can apply later, once a parent has 5 years of legal residence and the child attends school.
Sources
- Lei Organica 1/2026, Diario da Republica, 18 May 2026
- Consolidated Nationality Law (Lei 37/81), PGD Lisboa
- Constitutional Court, ruling 1133/2025 press release
- Ministry of Justice: new nationality rules from 19 May 2026
- IRN fees for nationality applications
- Portuguese visa portal: means of subsistence
- Observador: 690,480 pending nationality applications (October 2026)
Plan your next 10 years
If Portugal is still your first choice, the real question is whether you want to live there for a decade. Read the Portugal country guide and use the moving abroad checklist to keep your paperwork on track. Not sure Portugal is still the right fit? Take the Relocation Wizard and see which countries match your budget, timeline and goals.
