In June 2025, the current “minority” government bowing to pressure from Chega, introduced new Citizenship laws. In short the Nationality Draft Law 20/XVII/1 and Draft Law 23/XVII/1 are as follows:
- Residence Periods for citizenship doubled retroactively
For Canadians who have already moved here and are close to receiving EU citizenship, the goalpost has suddenly moved from 5 years to 10 years. - End to birthright citizenship
For Canadians who have been living here legally for years, their children are no longer automatically granted Portuguese citizenship if born here. - Cultural “Integration” requirements
Portugal previously only required level “A2” knowledge of the language. This level may be raised arbitrarily, and the government will introduce tests of the awareness of Portuguese culture and the functioning of the Portuguese Republic. - Declaration of Commitment
Applicants will now have to sign a “solemn declaration of adherence to the principles of the democratic rule of law” - Stricter Criminal Record Checks
It is undefined how tight these checks will be, but under current law, only a prison sentence of over 3 years would disqualify you. Now it could be anything. - Requiring language proficiency tests for renewal some types of Resident Permits
Currently one only needs to have “A2” level Portuguese for citizenship. The new laws will apply language tests to renew some types of Resident Permits - Suspension of family reunification requests
This makes it harder if not impossible for families to move to Portugal together - Removal of time spent illegally in the country for citizenship
I am not sure how they will define time spent “illegally” but considering the extreme slowness of the process of getting a Resident Card or renewing a resident card, I feel like this could easily apply to anyone who is here following the rules.
This law is retroactive
This law is retroactive and applies to anyone who moved here in the past 5 years and thought that they would soon be eligible for EU citizenship.
This is a betrayal of anyone who chose Portugal over the many other options in the EU and the world, and has already invested significant time, energy and money in relocating and building a new life here. For someone who has chosen Portugal over another country like Germany or France, this law is punitive. For example, for someone who has already spent 3 years in Portugal and was expecting to be an EU citizen after another two years, the wait will now be 7 years. If that person were to flush the investment of 3 years and start over in Germany or France today, they could become an EU citizen two years faster, and return to Portugal if they wished with the full rights afforded to a citizen of any EU country.
This law is actively destroying the good will of legal immigrants
I am devastated. We were 3 months away from the 5 year goal to apply for citizenship. We have been studying Portuguese religiously the entire time and are set to take the CIPLE test soon. We could have taken the useless government certificate classes where people learn next to nothing, but we really wanted to know Portuguese. We reach out and have actively cultivated relationships with our Portuguese neighbors who delight in helping us to learn the language. This change does feel like a betrayal and it isolates us from the very community we’ve been proud to call home. Sure, they want our money, but they spit in our faces at the same time. I’m heartbroken and disgusted.
Catherine Hunt – https://www.inlis.pt/post/portugal-new-10-year-citizenship-law-approved
Renewing Temporary Residencies is a horrendous burden.
Because Portugal is granting only Temporary Residencies to Canadians, the Residency permits must be renewed every 2-3 years. This renewal process is completely broken.
When you do all the work in Canada to submit your documents to get your D7 or D8 visa, they only give you a four month visa stamped in your passport. The embassy or consulate may also give you an appointment a “biometrics appointment” to get your Temporary Resident Card. This is disingenuous. It is not a just a “biometrics appointment”, it is an application for a 2 year Visa which requires all the same documentation as you presented in Canada, but updated. You will notice that the appointment date that they give you will be well after your 4 month visa expires. What they also neglect to tell you is that processing times after this appointment can take 6 months or up to a year, if they approve you.
During this time you are illegal from an EU immigration perspective and cannot leave or re-enter the country. You cannot talk to customs about any goods you have shipped from Canada, you cannot exchange a driver’s license, you have no legal status in Europe and you cannot leave and re-enter the country.
If something goes wrong with the process and you do not receive your card in the mail, you have no recourse. They don’t answer emails, they don’t pick up the phone, and there are police stationed at the entrance to the appointment office who do not let anyone in without an appointment. I know this from personal experience: it is a hellish humiliation.
At the end of the term of the Temporary Residency Card, this process is repeated. You may get an appointment assigned to you a few months after your card has expired, and you have to apply again, with all the same documentation you provided Canada, and they will either approve or deny your renewal, and if approved, they will send you a card in the mail, hopefully. During this time, you are again without legal status in Europe, and cannot enter or leave the EU. This new law is meant to keep us in this state for decades.
So the fact that this new residency law now states that time spent in this country “illegally” does not count towards the 10 years adds insult to injury. It is designed to make you flee the country, and it is succeeding. The inefficiencies of the Resident Card renewal process make living here without citizenship for a decade almost impossible, as there will be long stretches of time where you are unable to leave and re-enter the EU.
Finally, it takes the government 1-2 years minimum to approve a citizenship application, during which time your status is also in limbo. So between the difficulty in getting a Resident Card, and the difficulty in getting citizenship once you apply, the real timelines for citizenship is more like 12 to 13 years, a good part of which you are trapped in legal limbo without rights, dignity or certainty.
The waiting period for citizenship will be the longest in the EU.
Here is a list of EU countries that have 5 year residency requirements for EU citizenship, and that allow dual passports:
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Sweden
- UK (not technically EU since Brexit)
Many countries have been attempting to make their immigration policies more open to attract immigrants while Portugal is moving in a more anti-immigrant fashion. Some examples:
Spain will grant citizenship to holders of passports from most latin-american countries after only 2 years of residency.
France has a digital nomad visa called professsion libéral. France only requires B1 french, which should be trivial for any bilingual Canadian like myself
And for “exceptionally integrated”, they will give you citizenship in 2 years.
Malta will fast track citizenship to as fast as 1 year for immigrants who can pay, but the price is very high, about $1,000,000 Canadian
Germany has completely revamped it’s immigration laws in order to attract immigrants, dropping it’s residency requirement from 8 years to 5 years, and as low as 3 years for highly integrated individuals who can speak german at a C1 level and have taken an integration course. Germany will also issue you an EU blue card in many cases allowing you to live and work anywhere in 29 EU Schengen countries, whereas Portugal’s Temporary Residency only allows you to live and work in Portugal. There are especially relaxed requirements for IT workers. They have launched a new “Make it in Germany” website to help attract immigrants.
Hungary Even Hungary under the notoriously anti-immigrant Victor Orban will allow for citizenship via naturalization after 5 years.
This makes Portugal’s new laws amongst the strictest in Europe. When combined with government inefficiencies, there will no country with longer wait times for citizenship than Portugal under these new laws. What makes it a betrayal is that anyone who made the mistake of choosing Portugal over one of these other countries in the past 5 years is now has a longer wait than if they had chosen to move to any of the other countries listed above. It makes more sense for us to move elsewhere and start over than to stay. The exodus has already begun. And to be clear, this is the intent of the law, and this is the will of the majority of Portuguese.
In a private conversation with the author of the leading sites for information for Canadians moving to Portugal, the author responded with the following:
“Most people can’t move to France or Germany. If they could, they would already choose it over Portugal.”
“I completely agree with you: the whole situation really is a mess, and the uncertainty around it is exhausting. The shifting rules, the bureaucracy, and the general lack of clarity make it hard to feel confident about long-term planning. I’m definitely hoping things get watered down or at least clarified soon.”
I asked if I could quote the author directly, but he declined, because he is taking money from immigrants to provide relocation services.
Portugal should treat Canadian immigrants as well as Canada treats Portuguese immigrants
Portugal’s population has finally stabilized at around 10 million due to efforts to balance emigration and immigration. High immigration is needed to offset losses due to emigration of Portuguese talent to other countries. Canada has been a huge recipient of Portuguese immigration, and has managed to attract 166,000 immigrants from Portugal, putting us as the 5th most popular destination for Portuguese people. This is no easy feat, as Portuguese do not need to apply for a visa to move permanently to France or Germany, we don’t share a common language like Brazil, and Canadian salaries are lower than USA or Switzerland. Canada has worked hard to attract immigrants and it’s success is proven in these numbers:
- France: 600,000 emigrants
- Switzerland: 265,000 emigrants
- USA: 200,000 emigrants
- Brazil: 189,000 emigrants
- Canada: 166,000 emigrants
- Germany: 138,000 emigrants
Not only has Canada has accepted 166,000 immigrants from Portugal, but in our last census, 448,310 Canadian citizens identify as Portuguese, despite being second or third generation Canadians. There are entire neighbourhoods in Canadian cities where Portuguese immigrants are dominant, and where English or French is not always spoken. Canadians view immigration as a point of pride, and we are happy when immigrants choose Canada over other countries. We understand that immigrants have choices on where to move and when they choose Canada, their international perspective and different cultures contribute greatly to Canadian culture and society. To quote my member of parliament for many years in Vancouver Centre, “Canada’s diversity is its greatest competitive advantage – our weapon of mass inclusion.”
Portugal is not nearly as welcoming as Canada. Immigrants are regularly scapegoats for many of the failures of the Portugal’s problems, including the housing crisis and cost of living crisis. The current opposition party, Chega, likens immigration to an “invasion”. But let’s look at the numbers. As of 2022, there are just over 10,000 Americans living in Portugal. For Canadians, the last official number was taken in 2018 by the now disbanded SEF, but at the time, the total number of Canadians residing in the entire country was 882. How can 10,000 Americans and 882 Canadians be responsible for affecting the rents in a country of 10 million people who’s population is not growing?
Portuguese citizens moving to Canada under the Express Entry or Provincial Nominee Program are granted immediate permanent residency, whereas Portugal only allows Canadians Temporary residency. Canadian Citizenship is granted after 5 years.
The 882 Canadians should be treated with the same respect and given similar rights as the 166,000 Portuguese who have made the reverse journey, not as scapegoats for Portugal’s failures.
What action can one take?
Write the Prime Minster
https://www.portugal.gov.pt/en/gc24/prime-minister/contacts
Sign the following 2 petitions: