Under the revised citizenship law, citizens of Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and other countries outside the European Union and Portuguese-speaking community must now complete 10 years of legal residence before qualifying for citizenship.
However, nationals of European Union member states and countries where Portuguese is an official language, including Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau, will qualify after seven years.
The changes are contained in Portugal’s amended Nationality Law, known as Organic Law No. 1/2026, which came into force on May 19, 2026.
Applicants who submitted their citizenship applications before the law’s commencement date remain eligible under the previous five-year residency requirement, while new applicants are subject to the extended waiting periods.
Portugal Moves to Implement New Citizenship Rules
Portugal’s Council of Ministers approved regulations for implementing the amended nationality law on October 29, 2026, bringing the country closer to enforcing the new requirements.
The regulations are expected to clarify how authorities will assess applicants’ knowledge of the Portuguese language, culture, history, democratic institutions and civic responsibilities. Applicants will also be required to demonstrate financial independence and declare their commitment to democratic principles.
However, as of November 2, the implementing decree had not yet been confirmed as promulgated and published in Portugal’s official gazette, the Diário da República. Some administrative procedures therefore remain subject to final clarification.
Portugal’s Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, said the regulations would facilitate the full implementation of the revised law while simplifying administrative processes.
The government also plans to expand digital processing and information-sharing between public agencies to improve the handling of citizenship applications.
Portugal Faces Nearly 700,000 Citizenship Applications
The changes come as Portugal struggles with a growing backlog of citizenship applications. According to figures from the country’s Ministry of Justice, 690,480 citizenship applications were awaiting decisions as of June 30, 2026.
The backlog represents a 38 per cent increase from the previous year, with 26 per cent of pending applications involving immigrants seeking citizenship through years of legal residence. The Portuguese government is seeking to reduce delays through administrative simplification and digitalisation.
How Nigerians Are Affected
The revised law places Nigerians among nationals required to complete 10 years of legal residence before qualifying for Portuguese citizenship.
Portugal’s Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) reported that more than 242,000 residents from India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh were living in the country at the end of 2025.
The country also had more than 263,000 foreign residents from Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe during the same period. Nationals of these Portuguese-speaking African countries, alongside Mozambique and Equatorial Guinea, benefit from the seven-year residency pathway.
However, Nigerians, Ghanaians, Kenyans and South Africans fall under the general 10-year requirement because their countries do not have Portuguese as an official language.
Beyond extending the residency period, the amended law introduces additional requirements for foreigners seeking Portuguese nationality. Applicants must demonstrate knowledge of Portuguese language, culture and history, as well as the country’s democratic institutions and civic responsibilities.
The law also allows separate periods of legal residence to be combined within nine years for EU and Portuguese-speaking nationals, and within 12 years for other applicants.
Another major change removes a provision introduced in 2024 that allowed time spent waiting for residence permit approval to count towards citizenship eligibility, provided the permit was eventually granted.
