Portugal Golden Visa-New Law Extends Citizenship Timeline To Ten Years

"In a blow to the many people hoping to make Portugal their home and apply for European citizenship through the Portugal golden visa program or other visa routes, the Portuguese government voted to extend the time required to be in the country to 10 years before applications for nationality will be accepted. Portugal had been very attractive to expats keen on making Europe their home because previously, Portugal only required people to be in the country for five years before they could apply for nationality."

"For EU citizens and those in the community of Portuguese-language countries (Brazil, Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, São Tomé and Principe, and Timor-Leste), the rule will be increased to seven years instead of ten. For applications in process where citizenship is pending, the old rules will apply, but residents who haven't yet initiated citizenship will have to conform to the new seven- or ten-year rule."

"The vote also resets the citizenship timeline for new applicants; the clock starts ticking only when authorities grant a residence permit, not at the point where people submit their applications for residency. In reality, this means it might add another two to three years to the process, because that's typically how long it takes to obtain residency in the country. For most foreigners, golden visa investors, and people who have come on a digital nomad visa, the naturalization timeline effectively becomes about 9 to 13 years."

The Portuguese government raised the residency requirement for citizenship from five to ten years for most non-EU applicants and to seven years for EU and Portuguese-language country citizens. Pending citizenship applications will follow the old five-year rule, while new applicants must meet the extended residency period. The citizenship clock now begins when a residence permit is granted rather than at residency application submission, which typically adds two to three years. Golden visa holders, digital nomads, and many foreigners can expect naturalization timelines of roughly 9 to 13 years. All periods of legal residence, continuous or interrupted, will count toward the requirement.

Read at Forbes