Nationality

Team specialised in Nationality Law

PGS Lawyers has a vast team in advising and managing cases associated with Portuguese nationality.

Nationality determines to which country a person’s rights and duties are linked and it can change over a lifetime.

Portuguese nationality can be acquired at birth or during life, and it can also be lost.

Portuguese law allows a Portuguese to have other nationalities. Therefore, it is not necessary to give up another nationality to acquire Portuguese nationality. However, the laws of other countries may require you to give up Portuguese nationality in order to have nationality in one of those countries.

Nationality acquisition

There are several ways to acquire Portuguese nationality and they depend on the candidate’s profile:

• Are you married or living in a de facto union with a Portuguese person
• Was adopted by Portuguese
• Born in Portugal
• Born abroad
• Lives in Portugal
• Was once Portuguese and lost nationality

You can also apply for Portuguese nationality if:

• you are under 18 or incapable and your father or mother acquired Portuguese nationality after being born
• you are a member of a Portuguese community abroad
• you have provided relevant services to the Portuguese State or the Portuguese community

Exceptionally, fulfilling a set of legal requirements, you can also apply for Portuguese nationality if you are a descendant of Portuguese Sephardic Jews.