The Portuguese government has announced changes to the nationality law that allow judges to revoke the nationality of naturalized citizens who have been in the country for less than ten years if they commit “serious crimes” resulting in prison sentences of five years or more. This proposal was outlined by Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, at the end of the Council of Ministers meeting on Monday.
Constitutional law expert Paulo Otero stated that this measure is constitutional, arguing that citizenship acquired through naturalization can be subject to a “resolutive condition.” He explained, “A resolutive condition means a future and uncertain event, identified in the law. In this case, the commission of certain types of crimes. Such a situation is perfectly possible. Portugal would not be the only country to have such a solution.”
However, fellow constitutionalist Pedro Bacelar de Vasconcelos criticized the proposal, describing it as a “perverse intersection” between crime prevention and nationality rights, which violates the “enshrinement of human dignity” in the Portuguese Constitution.
Addressing the constitutional principle that no penalty should result in the loss of any rights, Otero emphasized that citizenship revocation should be “determined by a court” and noted that being an ancillary sanction circumvents the constitutional issue, equating it with measures like the confiscation of assets obtained through corruption or influence peddling.
Bacelar de Vasconcelos contended that the fact it is an ancillary and not automatic penalty, as explained by the Minister of the Presidency to justify its constitutionality, does not resolve its inconsistency with the Constitution, as it violates fundamental principles concerning the reintegration of criminals.
“I am dismayed by this initiative. I think it is a terrible indication of the direction being taken, making concessions to populist impulses, to put it mildly, which are beginning to prevail in our domestic legal system,” he remarked.
Otero also dismissed concerns that the nationality revocation clashes with the principle of equality between naturalized and original citizens, pointing out that “only those originally Portuguese can run for President of the Republic,” illustrating the constitutional distinction between original and derived nationality.
Speaking after the Council of Ministers, the Minister of the Presidency asserted that allowing judges to revoke nationality for serious crimes “fully complies” with the Constitution, as it involves an ancillary rather than automatic sanction.
Leitão Amaro argued that by defining the serious crimes subject to this sanction, the government achieves “a completely proportional judgement in line with the Constitution,” noting that the government’s legislative proposal was prepared with the input of “various constitutionalists and public law professors.”
“Honestly, I am truly convinced that it is a legally robust, firm, yet balanced and moderate solution, with a touch of firm, but humanistic rules,” he stated.
