In a vote during a meeting of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, the PS and Livre parties opposed a proposal that eliminates the five-year requirement for nationality currently in effect.
If the change is confirmed on Tuesday in a final global vote—which requires 116 votes in favor out of 230 deputies—the new law will state that obtaining nationality requires legal residence in Portugal for at least seven years for citizens from Portuguese-speaking countries and EU member states or ten years for nationals from other countries.
Pedro Delgado Alves, Vice President of the PS parliamentary group, indicated that the PS attempted to reach a compromise with the PSD, suggesting up to nine years, and noted that the new wording excludes British and Ukrainian communities, requiring them to wait ten years.
PSD deputy Paulo Marcelo explained that Britons are excluded from the seven-year minimum due to Brexit, arguing that the terms are “balanced” and reflect the country’s social situation.
Rui Rocha, former leader of Iniciativa Liberal, remarked on the closeness of positions on this fundamental issue as the PS conceded nine years, with CDS deputy João Almeida adding, “We are discussing a one-year difference.”
The PS and Livre also opposed the new requirement for applicants to prove, through a test or certificate, their sufficient knowledge of the Portuguese language, culture, history, and national symbols.
Here, Pedro Delgado Alves criticized PSD and CDS for arriving at “the worst solution, even compared to the initial Government proposal.” Rui Rocha warned against the “indeterminate” nature of the reference to Portuguese culture.
More consensus, although Livre voted against, was reached on the condition that nationality applicants should not have been sentenced to a prison term of two years or more.
In today’s early hours, PSD and CDS introduced a requirement for nationality applicants to provide proof of means of subsistence in Portugal—a move the PS termed “a concession to Chega,” prompting Pedro Delgado Alves to warn of potential injustices.
“This rule was previously part of Portuguese law, even under socialist governments,” responded PSD Vice President António Rodrigues. The proposed change was endorsed by Chega.
Despite opposition from the PS, children born in Portugal will obtain nationality only if “one of the parents has legally resided in the national territory for at least five years”—another measure supported by Chega.
However, Chega faced opposition from PSD, CDS, and PS when it sought to include the requirement of subsistence means as a condition for granting nationality to stateless persons with four years of residence in the country.
Conversely, if the changes approved today in detail pass in the final global vote, the PSD/CDS government will end the naturalization of those born in Portugal to foreign parents who are illegally in the country. The current law allows for the possibility of naturalization regardless of the parents’ legal status.
Pedro Delgado Alves advocated for a seven-year residence requirement for nationality acquisition by Sephardic Jews, but PSD and CDS declined to make exceptions and rejected the PS’s proposal, which was abstained by Chega.
In terms of regulations for the future law, all of Chega’s proposals were rejected by PSD, PS, and CDS, but the socialist demand for a transition period until March of next year was also rejected by government parties.
The provision that emerged from the specialty phase stipulates that the new law will take effect the day after its publication, prompting Pedro Delgado Alves to criticize the “inflexibility” and “lack of social sensitivity” displayed by the PSD and CDS, noting a “risk of violating the principle of trust.”
“We do not accept a transitional law. The rules have already been under discussion for four months,” countered António Rodrigues.
