A recently adopted Portuguese citizenship law introducing new naturalisation timelines has been sent to the Constitutional Court — initiated by the Socialist Party.
On October 24, Parliament approved amendments setting 7 years for EU and CPLP nationals and 10 years for all others. The law protects citizenship applications already submitted but does not apply to residence permit holders who have not yet started the process.
The next step should have been the President’s signature — usually a formality. However, the Socialists decided to refer the amendments to the court, and now the future of the law may change.
Everything happening now already resembles the signature style of Portuguese — and European — migration policy.
The first public announcement about extending the naturalization period to 10 years was made back in June. Nearly six months later, lawmakers still cannot reach a consensus, repeatedly postponing votes and introducing last-minute amendments.
We observed a similar process during the “abolition” of Portugal’s Golden Visa. The discussion lasted almost a year: from an announcement of a complete shutdown to a proposal to leave the program unchanged. At one point, the President even vetoed the bill. In the end, the program was preserved but stripped of real estate investments, shifting the focus to investment funds.
Germany is moving in the same direction: one year it introduces turbo-naturalization, the next year it cancels it; today it supports dual citizenship, tomorrow it already debates new restrictions.
