Ordinary naturalisation — CPLP / EU nationals (7-year track) (Art 6 n.1)
PT-NAT-01 is the ordinary-naturalisation (concessão) pathway for foreign nationals who hold a preferential residence threshold under the republished Lei da Nacionalidade : nationals of the Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa (CPLP) and citizens of European Union Member States . It is the principal discretionary route by which a long-settled foreign resident acquires Portuguese nationality, as distinguished from the attribution (originária) routes of Article 1 (jus soli / jus sanguinis) and the declaration-based acquisition routes of Articles 3 (marriage / união de facto) and 5 (adoption
Ordinary naturalisation — transitional (pending applications, 5-year rule preserved)
LO 1/2026 (Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026, DR 95/2026 Série I, 18-05-2026; EIF 19-05-2026) substantially raised the residence threshold for ordinary naturalisation under Art 6(1) of Lei 37/81: from 5 years (uniform, under LO 2/2018) to 7 years for CPLP and EU nationals, and 10 years for all others. It also added three new conditions — civic/political knowledge test (alínea d), solemn declaration of democratic values (alínea e), and subsistence capacity proof (alínea i) — and expanded the language condition (alínea c) to include culture, national history, and national symbols. However, TC Acórdão 1133
Ordinary naturalisation — other nationals (10-year track) (Art 6 n.1)
PT-NAT-02 is the residual ("catch-all") ordinary-naturalisation track of Portuguese nationality law: it governs every foreign national who is neither a citizen of a Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa (CPLP) Member State nor a citizen of a European Union Member State. Under the regime in force since 19 May 2026, an applicant on this track must hold ten years of legal residence in Portugal (against seven years for CPLP and EU nationals on the sister route PT-NAT-01) before applying for naturalisation by concession ( concessão da nacionalidade por naturalização ) under Article 6.º n.º 1 o
Naturalisation — stateless persons (Art 6 n.3, 4-year residence)
PT-NAT-03 is the route by which a recognised stateless person ( apátrida ) resident in Portugal may acquire Portuguese nationality by naturalisation ( concessão ) after a reduced legal-residence period of four years , under Art 6.º n.º 3 of Lei n.º 37/81 in the redaction given by Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 (EIF 2026-05-19). It is a discretionary Government grant of acquired (not original) nationality, sitting in the naturalisation bucket alongside the ordinary 7y/10y track (PT-NAT-01 / PT-NAT-02), but with a shorter residence clock and a tailored sub-set of integration conditions. The route exist
Naturalisation — minors in state care (Art 6 n.4)
Art 6 n.4 of Lei 37/81 (in the current redação of LO 1/2026) provides for the naturalisation of foreign minors who are in state care under a final child-protection measure (medida de promoção e proteção) adopted under Lei 147/99 (LPCJP, the Lei de Proteção de Crianças e Jovens em Perigo). This route is distinct from the general minor naturalisation route (Art 6 n.2, route PT-NAT-05), which requires a parent with at least 5 years of legal residence. PT-NAT-04 operates independently of parental residence because, by definition, the minor is under state care. The most significant procedural featu
Minor naturalisation — born in PT, parent 5-year residence (Art 6 n.2)
PT-NAT-05 is the minor naturalisation route for children born in Portugal to foreign parents where, at the moment of the naturalisation request, one parent has held legal residence in Portugal for at least five years. This is a naturalisation (concessão) route, not a jus soli attribution: nationality is not automatic at birth but must be applied for and is assessed as of the date of the application. This route is governed by Art 6(2) of Lei 37/81 in the redação of LO 1/2026. The parental residence threshold was raised from one year (the W5 standard under LO 2/2020) to five years by LO 1/2026,
Naturalisation — former nationals (Art 6 n.6)
Art 6 n.6 of Lei 37/81 (as numbered in the LO 1/2026 consolidated text) provides a special discretionary naturalisation route for former Portuguese nationals who (a) lost their Portuguese nationality, (b) never subsequently acquired any other nationality, and (c) maintain effective community links (laços de efetiva ligação à comunidade nacional). The Government may grant naturalisation with dispensation from two of the ordinary Art 6 n.1 conditions: the residence requirement (alínea b) and the language/culture condition (alínea c). The route is distinct from Art 4 reacquisition (route PT-RST-0
Naturalisation — relevant services to the State (Art 6 n.9)
Art 6 n.º 9 of Lei 37/81 confers on the Portuguese Government the power to grant Portuguese nationality by naturalisation to any person who has rendered relevant services (serviços relevantes) to the Portuguese State. This is one of the narrowest and most discretionary routes in the Portuguese nationality framework: no statutory residence period is required, no language or cultural integration test is mandated, and the statute itself does not define what constitutes "relevant services." The entire assessment rests with the Ministro da Justiça, acting in the name of the Government, without publ
Nationality consolidation — 10-year bona-fide protection (Art 12-B)
Art 12-B of Lei 37/81 is a protection-of-bona-fide-third-parties mechanism, not an acquisition pathway. It does not confer nationality on anyone. Rather, it bars the cancellation (anulação) of a fraudulently-obtained naturalisation once ten years have elapsed from the date of acquisition and where bona-fide third parties have derived nationality rights from the fraudulent acquirer. The practical effect is a ten-year limitation on the State's power to unwind fraud-based naturalisations where innocents would be prejudiced. The fraudulent acquirer themselves is NOT protected — only their bona-fid
Nationality consolidation — 6-year bona-fide protection (Art 12-B) [W5-W6 CLOSED]
THIS ROUTE IS SUPERSEDED. The 6-year consolidation rule under Art 12-B was the governing standard from the entry into force of LO 2/2018 (06 July 2018) until the day before LO 1/2026 came into effect (18 May 2026). From 2026-05-19 onward, the applicable consolidation threshold is 10 years (PT-NAT-12B-CONSOL). This document is preserved under A252 methodology to maintain an accurate lifecycle record. Persons whose cancellation proceedings were pending before 2026-05-19, or who need to assess whether the 6-year bar applies to proceedings initiated in the W5-W6 period, must use this historical re