The electoral program of the Liberal Initiative (IL), released on Thursday, proposes a “revision of the nationality law based on clear, fair, and stable criteria,” advocating for “a model that promotes integration with legal security and prevents abuses.”
The IL aims to “increase the number of years required to obtain nationality” following “discussion and revision of the criteria” and a “consensual debate,” according to an official from the party.
Currently, the law stipulates that applicants must have resided in Portugal for at least five years to request nationality.
In addition to increasing the number of years, the IL seeks to evaluate the “possibility of suspending the naturalization process if there are pending criminal proceedings.”
The party believes that “a rule should be considered to suspend the naturalization process when the applicant is a defendant in an ongoing criminal case for intentional crimes with a prison sentence of more than three years, until the sentence is final.”
The IL’s electoral program argues that the current nationality law “has become overly complex, unstable, and opaque, generating cases of legal uncertainty.” It cites the example of the article related to the requirements for acquiring nationality through naturalization, which “originally had two clear criteria” and now contains “more than twelve numbers and numerous subparagraphs.”
“It is therefore important to simplify and stabilize the legal criteria, promoting clarity, predictability, and fairness in access to nationality, reinforcing the criteria for effective integration, including mastery of the language, basic knowledge of democratic institutions, and the absence of serious criminal records,” the document states.
This is one of the changes in the IL’s electoral program compared to that presented for the last legislative elections in March 2024, which did not mention any amendment to the nationality law.
On Tuesday, the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, also argued that the future government should extend the period for granting Portuguese nationality, considering the current term has a “drawing effect” on immigrants.
In a press conference following the release of the interim report on pending cases recovery at the Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (AIMA), António Leitão Amaro explained that the period, below the community average, is an attraction factor for immigrants seeking to benefit from this measure.
The nationality law has already been altered in this legislature, setting the five-year period only after the issuance of the residence certificate, not after the application, as previously occurred.
