Photo: Correio Brazilse
Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has issued the new nationality law that will benefit thousands of Brazilians. It is now possible to count the waiting time for residence documents in Portugal towards obtaining Portuguese citizenship.
Until then, the waiting period for a residence permit was not taken into account when calculating the minimum fiveyear stay on Portuguese territory required to apply for Portuguese nationality.
In other words, if the immigration authorities took two years to issue documents to foreigners, this period would be forgotten. The amount of time it took the government to grant citizenship was only counted after citizens were legalized.
The new time counting rule is provided for in Article 15 of the new Nationality Law, adopted in January by the Assembly of the Republic and approved by the Constitutional Court before being sanctioned on Saturday (24/02).
Another point of the new nationality law that will benefit Brazilians in obtaining Portuguese citizenship is the validation of the recognition of children over 18 years old of Portuguese parents, provided that the processes have been validated by the courts.
Sephardic Jews
The new nationality law also addresses changes to the rules for granting Portuguese citizenship to descendants of Sephardic Jews. The President of the Republic consulted the Constitutional Court to find out whether the rules adopted by Parliament did not harm the hostages in Gaza.
In addition to submitting documents proving the ancestry of the Jews expelled from Portugal during the Inquisition period, those interested in obtaining Portuguese citizenship must live legally in the country for three years. This applies to future requests and by regulation by the Assembly of the Republic.
During the transition period, descendants of Sephardic Jews must show that they have “held a residence permit in Portugal for more than one year.” It is also required that “the ownership of real estate rights in Portugal, other personal rights or interests in commercial or cooperative companies established in the country and the carrying out of regular travel throughout the life of the applicant to Portugal” testify to an effective and lasting Attachment to the land.”
Collapsed system
The immigration system in Portugal has collapsed in recent years due to the large influx of foreigners, especially Brazilians, into the country and has been unable to satisfactorily respond to applications for residence permits. There are cases where people wait for treatment for almost three years.
The inability to provide assistance was so great that the Foreigners and Border Service (SEF), which was closed in October 2023, left more than 347,000 cases pending to its successor, the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (Aima).
Correio Brazilse