Portuguese citizenship sephardic

Law No. 1/2013 DL n. 30-A/2015

Table of Contents

Acquisition of Nationality by Descendants of Sephardic Jews

The Portuguese government may naturalize the descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Portugal and Spain in the fifteenth century.

This measure was authorized by Law No. 1/2013 of July 29. The requirements of the Regulation, which was authorized by DL 30-A/2015 on February 27, are as follows:

Applicants must be Sephardic Jews of Portuguese descent, of legal age or emancipated under Portuguese law, and must not have been convicted of an offense carrying a maximum incarceration sentence of three years or more under Portuguese law.

In the application, the following requirements for granting Portuguese nationality to Sephardic Jews of Portuguese descent must be declared and demonstrated:

Family Surnames, Family Language, Direct Descendants or Family Relations in the Portuguese Sephardic Genealogical Lines.

The following documents must accompany the application:

  • Certificate of birth registration;
  • Criminal record certificate issued by the competent Portuguese authorities; country of nationality and country of domicile.
  • Certificate or other supporting document demonstrating: ownership, transmitted mortis causa, of rights over real estate located in Portugal, of other personal rights of enjoyment or shareholdings in commercial companies or cooperatives with headquarters in Portugal; or Regular travel to Portugal throughout the applicant’s life.
  • Jewish community certificate with religious-related status in Portugal, in accordance with the law in force at the date of entry of the Regulation, proving Sephardic Jewish lineage of Portuguese origin via surname, family language, genealogy, and family memory.
  • Copy of the applicant’s passport with notarized verification of conformity with the original.
Documents example for Sephardic naturalization Portugal
Documents example for Sephardic naturalization Portugal

This certificate should include the following information:

Name, Date of Birth, Birth, Membership, Nationality, Residency of the Applicant.


Description of direct descent or family relationship in the genealogy of a common ancestor from the Sephardic community of Portuguese descent.


Evidence of each of these components.


In the absence of such a certificate, the following evidence may be admitted (not recommended):
  • Document issued by the Jewish community demonstrating the applicant’s eligibility for Portuguese citizenship.
  • Documentary records, including records of synagogues and Jewish cemeteries, as well as residence permits, property deeds, wills, and other documents proving the family relations of the applicant, by way of direct descent or family relationship in the collateral line of the Portuguese in Jewish rites, or as spoken by itself in the heart of this community, the rogue.

  • Documentary records, including records of synagogues and Jewish cemeteries, as well as residence permits, property deeds, wills, and other documents proving the family relationship of the applicant, by direct descent or family relationship in the collateral line of the common ancestor belonging to the Sephardic community of Portuguese origin.

  • If there are doubts about the authenticity of the contents of foreign-issued documents, the competent authorities may provide the Jewish communities registered in Portugal with their assessment of the evidence.

Payment link (250 euros cost) to obtain the form for the application of your naturalization process to the Portuguese government only for Sephardic case: 

https://crcpagamentos.irn.mj.pt/pagvisamc.aspx?productid=nac6.7

You will receive an email with your personalized form and proof of payment in PDF format, as in this example:

VERY IMPORTANT: Jewish community certificate with religious-related status in Portugal

Currently, there are several Jewish communities in Portugal that can process your application for a certificate and provide you with a CIP certificate.
 
The Portuguese Jewish Community Certificate is your proof of eligibility as a nationality applicant, according to Law DL 30-A/2015.
 
However, currently only two communities deal with this type of application: the Jewish Community of Lisbon and the Jewish Community of Porto.
 
Both communities deal with this type of case professionally, but the Jewish Community of Porto has a clear advantage in terms of speed (a few weeks) compared to the Community of Lisbon (currently more than a year of waiting for a certificate).
 
https://cilisboa.org/cilisboa-en/
 
http://www.comunidade-israelita-porto.org/x#0
 
Due to the enormous technological and human resources deployed by the Jewish community of Porto to accomplish the national mission entrusted to the Jewish community in Portugal, there is a significant disparity in the time required for analysis and certification between the two communities.
 
 
For this reason, it is strongly recommended that you proceed with the analysis of your CIP application for naturalization in the Jewish Community of Porto.
 
The cost of the analysis and the certificate, if you are eligible, is 500 euros, payable by bank transfer only.

Once the formalities have been completed, transmit your application for naturalization in Portugal to the following address:

Conservatória dos Registos Centrais
Rua Rodrigo da Fonseca, 200 1099-003 Lisboa Portugal

For additional information, please visit irn.mj.pt.

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