By Ana Rita Gil, GLOBALCIT Country Expert

In December 2017 media sources reported a record number of acquisitions of the Portuguese citizenship in 2016, based on new data from Statistics Portugal (INE). According to these statistics, the number of persons acquiring Portuguese citizenship increased to 29.351 in 2016, 35% higher than in 2015.

The number of Portuguese citizenship acquisitions has been very high since 2007, when Portugal experienced the first big “boom” of naturalisations. This was due to the comprehensive amendment of the Portuguese Nationality Act that took place in 2006, where naturalisations became a subjective public right, some conditions were eliminated and also acquisition by birth and family acquisitions were facilitated (see here the Country Report on Portugal). In 2006 there were less than 10.000 naturalisations whereas in 2008 the number of naturalisations rose to 19.000. This number decreased slightly in the following years, with an average of 16.500 acquisitions per year. In 2016 there was a new increase of naturalisations, which rose to 21.158. Moreover, 3.946 foreign citizens acquired citizenship by other ways (mainly through family acquisition), and finally 4.247 foreigners living abroad also acquired citizenship in 2016. As a result, the year of 2016 represents a record for the acquisitions of the Portuguese citizenship.

Statistics Portugal points out that this increase is due to the 2015 amendments of the Portuguese Nationality Act, which favoured the acquisition of citizenship for the foreigners with Portuguese ancestry living abroad. However, the vast majority of new acquisitions concern foreigners who were living in Portugal and fulfilled the conditions for naturalisation. Thus, the reason for such increase may not only be connected to the 2015 law amendments, but also be due to the change of the Portuguese social context. In fact, after several years of economical crisis, beginning in 2012, the Portuguese economy began to recover in 2015. This economic recovery is reflected by the numbers of immigrants, as the number of foreigners residing in Portugal increased by 2.32% in 2016, after five years of decline. Also, the negative political context of the main countries of origin, such as Brazil, may have contributed to the increasing number of naturalisation, which according to provisional data will also be reflected in the numbers regarding 2017.

After the major legal changes of 2006, the Portuguese Nationality Act only went through minor amendments, primarily aimed at reinforcing the ties with the Portuguese communities living abroad. As a result, several communities of resident foreigners, mainly citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries who were born in Portugal, claim that the Portuguese Nationality Act is discriminatory, because it favours acquisitions grounded on ethnic belonging. Thus, there is currently a social movement, led by civic organisations and immigrant associations, advocating the recognition of an automatic ius soli in Portugal (see e.g. here and here). There is currently a bill for such purpose, created by the Left Block, which is under discussion in the Parliament.

For further information on current and past citizenship legislation in Portugal, check out our country profile pages.