The Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN) revealed data today indicating that over half a million cases (515,334) were under review as of June 30. Among these, 31% were requests for naturalization from descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews.
Additionally, one in five cases (20%) involved naturalization requests from individuals who have resided in Portugal for at least five years, fulfilling the legal residency requirement. There were also 15% of cases concerning granting nationality to children of Portuguese citizens born abroad.
The IRN noted that another 14% concerned acquisition through marriage or common-law relationships with Portuguese citizens, 12% involved granting nationality to grandchildren of Portuguese citizens born abroad, and 6% were for “acquisition by minors or those incapable due to parental acquisition of Portuguese nationality.”
The IRN further disclosed that “between 2020 and 2025, its services received over 1.543 million Portuguese nationality requests.”
These requests encompass various situations, “extending beyond naturalization of foreign citizens,” according to the IRN. This includes many instances of nationality being granted or acquired through “marriage or common-law relationships with Portuguese citizens, legal residency duration in Portugal, or descent from Portuguese citizens.”
Many of these requests are for birth registrations, particularly for children of Portuguese citizens born abroad, as detailed on the website updated this afternoon.
In the past five years, the IRN received over 1.5 million requests. Notably, in 2022, the services received 367,348 nationality applications, of which 124,663 were under provisions for descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews.
In the subsequent years, requests declined: there were 274,820 in 2023, 277,656 in the following year, and 121,460 in the first half of this year.
On Friday, Minister of the Presidency António Leitão Amaro reviewed the number of pending nationality requests during a debate on nationality law.
“The access and holding of Portuguese citizenship cannot be simplified or commercialized,” said the minister, asserting that “nationality cannot be a transaction or transition to obtaining a passport and then moving to other European countries.” He pointed out that in recent years, “the required connection to the national community has weakened, leading to a surge in nationality requests, excluding those from children of Portuguese parents.”
