The Ministry of Justice has disclosed information regarding the confirmation of Portuguese nationality processes, following inquiries from the parliamentary group of the Socialist Party (PS). Concerns were raised in October about extensive delays at the Central Registry Office of the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN) in processing birth registration integrations from Portuguese consulates.
In the Ministry’s response to the PS, accessed today, it was clarified that “there is no delay in the integration of birth registrations for minors aged one year or below from consular posts.”
“The Central Registry Office is conducting the analysis and integration of birth registrations submitted by the consulates on the same day,” the response states.
As of November 19 of this year, 25,507 birth registrations from consulates, via the civil registration information system, were pending integration. This includes 629 minors above the age of one and 24,878 adults.
The Government highlighted a “significant structural challenge” faced by the IRN due to a continuous reduction in its human resources.
“The lack of replenishment of staff, given retirements, mobility to other entities, and the absence of new recruitment contests, has directly and significantly impacted the capacity of registry services, including those processing nationality requests, such as the Central Registry Office,” explained the Ministry of Justice.
According to the Government, the solution involves ongoing recruitment procedures, aiming to hire 159 new registry conservators, an additional eight for the Autonomous Region of Madeira, and 617 registry officers.
