Portugal changed the rules for citizenship this spring. If you hold a golden visa, are waiting for one, or were planning to apply, here is where things actually stand.
The nationality law in force since 19 May 2026 extends the residence period required for naturalization from five years to ten, or seven for citizens of the EU and of Portuguese-speaking countries. It adds language and civic requirements. Parliament approved it on 1 April; the President signed it on 3 May after a Constitutional Court review reshaped parts of the original text.
Citizenship applications already pending when the law entered force proceed under the old rules. That protection was not a gift: it was fought for. The Constitutional Court struck down several provisions of the first draft in December 2025, days after investors filed an amicus curiae brief through this firm, supported by an 82 page opinion we commissioned from Professor Jorge Miranda, co-author of Portugal’s Constitution.
Applicants not yet eligible when the law changed now face the longer counts, and the way residence time is calculated has narrowed. For golden visa holders who waited years for appointments through no fault of their own, that is the injury: the delay was the State’s, the cost is theirs.
Acting for more than 500 affected investors preparing collective proceedings, and, with eight peer firms, for 1,260 residents whose complaint is now with the Ombudsman. Our position has not moved: when a foreign citizen applies under rules the State published, the State should keep its word.
If you are mid-process: nothing rash; your position may be stronger than the headlines suggest. If you are planning: the programs remain open and workable, and the plan simply has to be built on the law as it is, with margins for how it moves. That is what we are for.