Portugal’s long-discussed reforms to its nationality framework have taken a decisive turn following intervention by the Constitutional Court. While political momentum had been building toward a more restrictive citizenship regime, the court has now drawn clear legal boundaries around how far those changes can go.
The result is not a wholesale rejection of reform, but a forced recalibration – one that preserves the state’s right to tighten eligibility timelines while rejecting provisions that undermine constitutional certainty, proportionality, and due process.
For foreign residents, investors, and long-term applicants, this ruling matters far more than headlines suggest.
A Law That Changed Direction Before It Took Effect
The nationality amendments were never allowed to fully come into force. Before implementation, the legislation was referred for constitutional review, placing it under judicial scrutiny before any practical consequences could unfold.
That review has now concluded with a mixed outcome.
The court confirmed that Parliament may lawfully extend the minimum residency period required for citizenship. However, it invalidated several accompanying measures that were found to be legally flawed in their construction, scope, or wording.
This distinction is critical: the issue was not reform itself, but how that reform was drafted.
Which Provisions Failed Constitutional Review
Four specific elements of the reform were rejected, each for different legal reasons but with a common theme – lack of precision and excessive discretionary power.
In simple terms, the court objected to rules that would have allowed citizenship decisions to be refused or revoked without sufficiently clear standards or safeguards.
The rejected provisions included:
– Automatic exclusion from citizenship based on certain criminal convictions, without adequate consideration of proportionality or rehabilitation
– Broad behavioural tests assessing whether an applicant had “integrated into the national community”, without objective criteria
– Expanded fraud-related refusals that lacked clearly defined evidentiary thresholds
– A redefinition of how lawful residence time would be calculated, which risked penalising applicants for administrative delays outside their control
Separately, the court also struck down a proposal to allow nationality to be removed as an additional criminal sanction, ruling that citizenship status cannot be treated as a punitive tool.
What Survives — And What Remains Unclear
The most politically sensitive element of the reform — extending the general citizenship timeline from five years to ten — was not blocked.
That said, the court’s decision leaves important questions unanswered.
Most notably:
– When exactly the residency “clock” would begin
– Whether transitional protections will apply to those already well advanced in the process
– How authorities should treat applicants caught between old and new regimes
Until the written judgment is fully implemented into revised legislation, practical interpretation remains unsettled.
Why This Matters in Practice
For clients planning long-term residency or citizenship strategies, this ruling reinforces a principle that has consistently shaped Portuguese nationality law: legal certainty matters.
Portugal may adjust its policy objectives, but it cannot do so in a way that retroactively disadvantages applicants, relies on vague behavioural tests, or delegates excessive discretion without guardrails.
This is particularly relevant for:
– Golden Visa holders and other investors
– Families relocating under long-term residency routes
– Professionals and retirees structuring permanent settlement in Portugal
In short, the path may become longer – but it must remain legally coherent.
Political Implications Going Forward
Parliament now faces a choice.
It can redraft the rejected provisions in a constitutionally compliant form, or it can proceed with a pared-back reform that focuses primarily on residency duration while leaving other elements unchanged.
Either approach will require further debate, and any revised text is likely to face intense scrutiny from both legal professionals and opposition parties.
What is clear is that Portugal’s citizenship framework is no longer moving on autopilot.
Expert Perspective
From an advisory standpoint, this ruling confirms what experienced practitioners have been saying for months: dramatic structural changes to nationality law are rarely simple, and rushed drafting creates more uncertainty than clarity.
For applicants already in the system, the immediate takeaway is caution rather than panic. Planning assumptions should be reviewed, but not abandoned, and decisions should be based on enacted law – not political speculation.
Portugal remains one of Europe’s most credible long-term residency destinations, but the margin for error in planning has narrowed. Expert guidance has never been more important.