Law no. 2/2018, of the 5th July, extends the access to citizenship of origin and to the naturalization of the persons born in Portugal.

The most relevant amendments are the following:

     I.        Citizenship of origin

With the new amendment, persons born in Portugal, that do not declare not wanting to be Portuguese, are considered as citizens of origin, as long as, in the moment of birth, one of the parents legally resides in Portugal for at least 2 years.

    II.        Acquisition of citizenship by naturalization

The government may grant Portuguese nationality by naturalization to those that, among other requirements, legally reside in Portugal for at least 5 years.

Moreover, naturalization of children is possible if one of the parents has residence in Portugal (regardless of permit), for at least 5 years prior to the request;

It is also possible to request naturalization for ascendants of Portuguese citizens by origin.

Furthermore:

• It is no longer possible to deny the acquisition of nationality by marriage on the grounds of inexistence of effective bonds to the community whenever there are children in common with Portuguese nationality.
• The counting of legal residence will consider the periods of legal residence in Portugal, consecutives or interspersed, as long as the same occurred in a maximum time lapse of 15 years.