Bisneto naturalisation with dispensation — great-grandchild, 5-year residence (Art 6 n.8) [NEW W7]

PT-DSC-03 is a new pathway created by Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 (in force 19 May 2026) that, for the first time in Portuguese nationality law, gives third-degree lineal descendants — bisnetos (great-grandchildren) — of an original Portuguese national a dedicated, partially-facilitated route to nationality. The instrument is Art 6.º n.º 8 of Lei 37/81, in the redaction inserted by the republication annexed to LO 1/2026.

The defining structural feature of this route — and the single most consequential point for any applicant or adviser — is that it is a naturalisation (concessão), not an attribution of original nationality (atribuição/originária). It sits in Art 6.º (the naturalisation article), not in Art 1.º (the attribution article that governs jus sanguinis and jus soli). The Government "pode conceder" (may grant) nationality; the verb is discretionary and the act is a State conferral, not a recognition of a pre-existing blood-right. This has three load-bearing consequences treated throughout this document: (i) the route requires at least five years of legal residence in Portugal; (ii) it requires satisfaction of the full Art 6.º n.º 1 integration and good-character battery except the ordinary residence-duration threshold; and (iii) the resulting nationality is acquired, not original, and therefore does not self-replicate down the line to the bisneto's own children as originária.

The route is best understood against the descent architecture of Lei 37/81 as amended:

• Filho (child) of a Portuguese national → Art 1.º n.º 1 a)–c): original nationality (atribuição), automatic / by declaration, no residence, ex tunc from birth (PT-DSC-01).
• Neto (grandchild) of an original Portuguese national → Art 1.º n.º 1 d) with Art 1.º n.º 3: original nationality (atribuição) by declaration, but conditioned (since LO 1/2026) on effective community links plus the full Art 6.º n.º 1 c)–h) battery, no residence requirement (PT-DSC-02).
• Bisneto (great-grandchild) of an original Portuguese national → Art 6.º n.º 8: naturalisation (concessão) with dispensation of the residence-duration threshold only, requiring ≥5 years legal residence in Portugal and the full Art 6.º n.º 1 battery (PT-DSC-03 — this route).

In other words, Lei 37/81 grants original nationality (atribuição) up to and including the grandchild generation, then draws a deliberate line at the great-grandchild: the bisneto does not receive a blood-right but a facilitated naturalisation. The facilitation is narrow — it waives only the seven-/ten-year ordinary residence requirement of Art 6.º n.º 1 alínea b), substituting a five-year legal-residence minimum, and otherwise applies the same integration, language, civics, solemn-declaration, criminal/security and subsistence requirements as ordinary naturalisation.

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• The applicant must be a descendente em 3.º grau na linha reta — a great-grandchild in the direct (vertical) line — of a person who was Portuguese originário (held original nationality, atribuição, not acquired). "Linha reta" excludes collateral relatives (cousins, great-aunts/uncles). (src-B1-03, src-B1-02.)
• The ancestor's original status is essential. A great-grandparent who was a naturalised (acquired) Portuguese citizen does not anchor the route — the statute requires "portugueses originários". This mirrors the wording used for the grandchild route (Art 1.º n.º 1 d): "ascendente... do 2.º grau... que não tenha perdido essa nacionalidade").
• Channeling caveat (PT-ASSERT-DSC-009 / -012): Where the intervening generations themselves hold or can obtain Portuguese nationality, the bisneto may not need this route at all. If the grandparent obtained originária nationality under Art 1.º n.º 1 d), the applicant's parent is a "filho de português" under Art 1.º n.º 1 c) (original, no residence), and the applicant is then a child of a Portuguese national under Art 1.º n.º 1 a)–c) — also original, also no residence. Art 6.º n.º 8 is the residual bypass for the bisneto who cannot use that intervening chain and who instead resides in Portugal. Advisers should map the full vertical chain before defaulting to PT-DSC-03, because the chain routes (DSC-01/DSC-02) are originária and residence-free, whereas PT-DSC-03 is acquired and residence-bound. (src-B1-11 Valadas Coriel.)

2. Residence: at least five years of legal residence in national territory

• "residência legal em território nacional há pelo menos cinco anos" — the applicant must have legal residence (a valid residence title/status) in Portugal for a minimum of five years. This is the substituted threshold: ordinary naturalisation requires 7y (CPLP/EU) or 10y (others) under alínea b); Art 6.º n.º 8 dispenses with that and sets a five-year floor.
• This is genuinely a residence-bound route: unlike DSC-01/DSC-02 (originária, no residence), the bisneto must physically and legally reside in Portugal. (src-B1-03, src-B1-10, src-B1-04.)

3. Majority / legal capacity (Art 6.º n.º 1 a))

• The applicant must be of age (maior) or emancipated under Portuguese law at the time of the request. (Art 6.º n.º 1 a); PT-ASSERT-DSC-011.)

4. Language + culture/history/symbols (Art 6.º n.º 1 c), as expanded by LO 1/2026)

• The applicant must demonstrate knowledge of the Portuguese language (minimum A2 CEFR, certified by CIPLE/CAPLE, Universidade de Lisboa, or accepted equivalents) and, as newly expanded by LO 1/2026, Portuguese culture, national history and national symbols. (PT-ASSERT-DSC-008, PT-ASSERT-NAT-003, src-B1-10.)
• No CPLP language presumption applies to alínea c) culture/history/symbols. The Art 6.º n.º 10 CPLP presumption covers only the language component ("primeira parte da alínea c)"). A bisneto who is a CPLP-country national still must independently satisfy the culture/history/symbols limb. (PT-ASSERT-DSC-008.)

5. Knowledge of fundamental rights/duties and political organisation (Art 6.º n.º 1 d) — NEW)

• A new civics requirement: knowledge of fundamental rights and duties and the political organisation of the Portuguese State. (PT-ASSERT-NAT-002, src-B1-10.)

6. Solemn declaration of adherence to democratic rule-of-law principles (Art 6.º n.º 1 e) — NEW)

• A new solemn declaration of adherence to the fundamental principles of the democratic rule of law. (PT-ASSERT-NAT-002, src-B1-10.)

7. Criminal bar (Art 6.º n.º 1 f), rectified; rebuttable per Art 6.º n.º 14)

• No final conviction to a pena de prisão efetiva superior a 3 anos (effective imprisonment exceeding 3 years) for enumerated crime categories (terrorism; violent or especially violent crime; highly organised crime; crime against State security; aiding illegal immigration). The "superior a 3 anos" threshold is the rectified value per Declaração de Retificação 17/2026 — the original LO 1/2026 text said "igual ou superior a 2 anos" and was corrected. (PT-ASSERT-NAT-004, PT-VC-008, S-DRE-RETIF.)
• This is a rebuttable presumption (presunção ilidível) under Art 6.º n.º 14: the Ministério Público weighs the nature/circumstances of the crime, time elapsed, rehabilitation and concrete circumstances of genuine effective integration. It is not an automatic bar — consistent with the TC line (Ac. 331/2016 → 534/2021 → 127/2023 → 846/2023; CRP Art 30.º n.º 4 prohibits automatic effects of conviction). (PT-ASSERT-NAT-005, PT-ASSERT-NAT-006.)

8. No security threat (Art 6.º n.º 1 g))

• The applicant must not represent a danger or threat to national security or defence. (PT-ASSERT-DSC-011.)

9. No UN/EU restrictive measures (Art 6.º n.º 1 h))

• The applicant must not be subject to UN or EU restrictive measures within the scope of Lei 97/2017. This restriction was relocated into Art 6.º n.º 1 h) from the now-revoked Art 13.º. (PT-ASSERT-NAT-007, PT-ASSERT-DSC-011.)

10. Subsistence capacity (Art 6.º n.º 1 i) — NEW)

• A new requirement that the applicant demonstrate the capacity to ensure their own subsistence. (PT-ASSERT-NAT-002, PT-ASSERT-DSC-011.)

Summary of the dispensation: Art 6.º n.º 8 waives alínea b) only. Every other condition in Art 6.º n.º 1 — a), c), d), e), f), g), h), i) — applies in full. The route is "facilitated" purely in the sense of a reduced (5y) and re-anchored residence requirement, not a reduced integration standard.

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• Proof of lineage to an original Portuguese national: documentary genealogical chain establishing the third-degree direct-line relationship to a great-grandparent who held original Portuguese nationality (e.g. great-grandparent's Portuguese birth/baptism record or assento de nascimento evidencing originária status; intervening parent and grandparent civil records linking the line). The applicant bears the burden of demonstrating the great-grandparent was originário, not merely Portuguese by acquisition.

• Language certificate (A2 CEFR): CIPLE certificate (CAPLE, Universidade de Lisboa) or accepted equivalent (Portuguese school-leaving certificate or Ministry-of-Education-recognised equivalent; adapted test for illiterate applicants). (PT-ASSERT-NAT-003, S-B2-05/06/07.)

• Criminal record certificates: Portuguese and (where applicable) foreign criminal records to assess the Art 6.º n.º 1 f) bar; the MP applies the Art 6.º n.º 14 rebuttable-presumption analysis.

Effects (load-bearing — Art 11.º / Art 12.º):

• Naturalisation under Art 6.º n.º 8 confers acquired nationality with effects from the date of the relevant event/registration (Art 12.º) — not ex tunc. This contrasts sharply with originária attribution (Art 1.º), which is ex tunc from birth (Art 11.º). (PT-ASSERT-DSC-013.)
• Non-self-replication: because the bisneto becomes Portuguese by acquisition and is not "português originário", the bisneto's own children cannot claim Art 1.º n.º 1 d) (which requires an original ascendant). They may claim Art 1.º n.º 1 a)–c) only as children of a Portuguese national — i.e. the next generation must use the ordinary child-of-a-national routes, and the great-grandchild line does not perpetuate a descent-based right beyond the naturalised bisneto. (PT-ASSERT-DSC-012, src-B1-11 Valadas Coriel, src-B1-12 EuroPress.)

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• Assembleia da República — legislator; nationality is its reserva absoluta (CRP Art 164.º f); LO 1/2026 is the enabling organic law.
• Ministério da Justiça / Governo — the grantor. Art 6.º n.º 8 is a discretionary Government grant ("o Governo pode conceder"); the decision is made within the Ministry of Justice apparatus.
• IRN / Conservatória dos Registos Centrais (CRC) — the central registry that processes nationality acquisition, receives the naturalisation request, and registers the resulting acquired nationality. The operative anchor for which law applies to a pending file is the IRN electronic-submission date (IRN operational note; PT-ASSERT-NAT-008).
• AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo) — competent for the underlying residence layer (residence titles that constitute the five-year legal residence), not for the nationality grant itself.
• Ministério Público (MP) — applies the Art 6.º n.º 14 rebuttable-presumption analysis on the criminal bar; in acquisition-by-will contexts the MP exercises the oposição function (Art 9.º). Note: Art 6.º n.º 8 is a naturalisation (concessão by the Government), not an acquisition-by-declaration; the Art 9.º oposição regime is principally a control layer for the by-will routes (marriage, união, adoption), but the MP's good-character/criminal-bar role under Art 6.º n.º 14 operates within the naturalisation assessment itself.

1. Establish ≥5 years legal residence (AIMA residence-title layer).
2. Assemble the genealogical chain proving third-degree direct-line descent from an original Portuguese national.
3. Satisfy and document the Art 6.º n.º 1 battery (language A2 + culture/history/symbols; civics; solemn declaration; criminal/security/UN-EU clearances; subsistence).
4. File the naturalisation request with the IRN/CRC.
5. Ministry of Justice assessment (discretionary grant); MP good-character/criminal-bar review under Art 6.º n.º 14.
6. On grant, registration of acquired nationality (effects from registration, Art 12.º).

• Administrative decisions on nationality are challenged before the administrative courts, with apex review at the Supremo Tribunal Administrativo (STA) — NOT the civil courts / Supremo Tribunal de Justiça. The administrative-jurisdiction route has been settled since LO 2/2006. (PT-ASSERT-XCT-010.)

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"O Governo pode conceder a nacionalidade, com dispensa do requisito previsto na alínea b) do n.º 1, aos indivíduos que sejam descendentes em 3.º grau na linha reta de portugueses originários e que tenham residência legal em território nacional há pelo menos cinco anos."

Three operative limbs are embedded in this single sentence:

1. "O Governo pode conceder" — the act is a discretionary Government grant (naturalisation / concessão), assessed by the Ministro da Justiça. It is not an attribution and not a right that consolidates ex tunc.
2. "com dispensa do requisito previsto na alínea b) do n.º 1" — the only waived requirement is alínea b), i.e. the ordinary residence-duration threshold (seven years for CPLP/EU nationals, ten years for all others under Art 6.º n.º 1 b) as amended by LO 1/2026). No other alínea is waived.
3. "descendentes em 3.º grau na linha reta de portugueses originários... residência legal... há pelo menos cinco anos" — the eligible person is a third-degree lineal descendant of an original Portuguese national who has at least five years of legal residence in national territory.

Constitutional and competence anchor (Art 6.º applies the general nationality framework): Nationality is the exclusive, non-delegable competence of the Assembleia da República (CRP Art 164.º f) — "Aquisição, perda e reaquisição da cidadania portuguesa") exercised only by organic law (CRP Art 166.º n.º 2). LO 1/2026 is such an organic law, enacted on the basis of CRP Art 161.º c) / Art 164.º f). The Azores and Madeira confer no separate nationality and apply no different rules (CRP Art 225.º n.º 3 — regional autonomy does not affect State sovereignty). There is one national register, the Registo Nacional de Pessoas via the Conservatória dos Registos Centrais (CRC/IRN). (PT-ASSERT-XCT-010, S-A2-01/02, S-E1-22.)

Source hierarchy on the bisneto text:

• T1 / verbatim: S-PGDL-CONS (pgdlisboa Lei 37/81 consolidada, 13ª versão = LO 1/2026, recording Art 6.º n.º 8 = bisneto 3.º grau + 5y, and n.º 5 / n.º 7 = [Revogado]); src-B1-03 (debates.parlamento.pt, full Art 6(8) verbatim); src-B1-02 (pgdlisboa Lei 37/81 consolidated); S-EXA-PGDL-ART6 (Art 6 normative body confirming n.8 bisneto 3.º grau + 5y).
• T2 / corroborating: src-B1-01 (LO 1/2026 full text via homepagejuridica.pt, Art 6(8) wording); src-B1-10 (Idealista, bisneto conditions including mandatory language/culture/history/symbols, fundamental rights/duties, adherence to fundamental principles); src-B1-11 (Valadas Coriel — confirms naturalisation-not-attribution and non-transmissibility).
• Rectification: Declaração de Retificação n.º 17/2026/1 (S-DRE-RETIF / S-B2-18, T1) corrected the criminal-bar threshold imported through Art 6.º n.º 1 f) to "pena de prisão efetiva superior a 3 anos".

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