How to Get Portugal Citizenship

Many people have their reasons for wanting to travel and immigrating to another country. The usual reasons for wanting to move and immigrate are for better job opportunities or the place that can offer an improvement to their lives. Europe has always been a hotspot of families and individuals immigrating and looking for permanent residence as job opportunities not only pay a reasonable amount but living conditions are significantly improved.

If you’ve been thinking of moving to Europe, we have you covered as we have here different ways to secure Portuguese citizenship. Portugal is an incredibly good place to move in as it offers the lowest crime rates along with a low basic cost of living compared to other countries in Europe.

Claiming Citizenship through Ancestry or Marriage

It is not uncommon for any country to grant citizenship to foreigners who get married to local citizens of the country. Marriage is perhaps the most straightforward way for anyone to obtain citizenship but isn’t very practical if you are doing it for any other reason. Similar to marriage, it is also possible to get citizenship by proving your relations to a Portuguese in your ancestry. Grandchildren of Portuguese citizens for example can claim their citizenship through the right of ancestry.

Both of these methods have their share of unique paperwork and requirements you need to accomplish such as living in the country for a certain amount of time.

5-Year Residency (Naturalization)

Naturalization into a country is the most common way for people to secure citizenship in any country. In Portugal’s case, immigrants are required to stay at least 5 years within 15 years to become eligible for Portuguese citizenship. This 5-year requirement includes things such as academic studies or works in the country counts as part of it as it involves staying in the country.

Once the 5 years are accomplished, additional documents and requirements are needed such as being proficient in a certain level of Portuguese for example which you can accomplish before or after the 5 years have passed. Only your records of staying in Portugal are needed for this process as you don’t need to be necessarily employed in a full-time position or own property in the country. Furthermore, you also need to have a clean record and any legal obligations from your previous country that restricts you from moving.

Portugal Golden Visa Program

Created back in 2012, the Portugal Golden Visa is a program by the government that aims to grant immigrants Portuguese citizenship with a more lenient outtake on the 5-year requirement for naturalization. The 5-year wait cannot be removed as it is a mandatory requirement but with, the Golden Visa you only would need to stay 7 days each year during the 5 years.

There are several options available in the Golden Visa program that you can accomplish during the 5 years as well as certain criteria you need to fall under to become eligible for them. The program and the criteria can be explored more with the help of an agency or the official program page.