Nationality via união de facto with Portuguese citizen (Art 3 n.3)

Art 3 n.3 of Lei 37/81 (as consolidated under LO 1/2026) permits a foreign national in a de facto union (união de facto) of more than three years with a Portuguese citizen to acquire Portuguese nationality by declaration. The route is structurally parallel to the marriage-based route (PT-MAR-01, Art 3 n.1) but with one critical additional prerequisite: the união de facto must be judicially recognised by a competent Portuguese civil court under Lei n.º 7/2001 de 11 de maio before the nationality declaration can be filed.

This judicial prerequisite distinguishes PT-MAR-02 from PT-MAR-01. A formal marriage certificate substitutes for the court process in the marriage route; for a de facto union, Portuguese law requires a certified sentença (court judgment) formally recognising the union before it can ground a nationality claim.

Under LO 1/2026, Art 3 n.4 imported the Art 6 n.1 f)-h) criminal/security/UN-EU bars into the acquisition-by-union route. The base three-year duration threshold is unchanged. The Ministério Público (MP) retains a two-year opposition window (Art 10 n.1) and may oppose on the ground of absence of effective community links (Art 9 n.1 a), using the Art 6(1)(c)-(i) yardstick). A safe-harbour bars MP opposition at the >6-year union mark or where common Portuguese-national children exist, except on Art 6 n.1 f)-h) criminal/security grounds.

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1. União de facto duration — more than 3 years. The union must have subsisted for more than three years at the time the nationality declaration is filed. Duration is computed from the start of cohabitation, not from the date of judicial recognition.

2. Judicial recognition of the união — PREREQUISITE. A certified sentença from a competent Portuguese civil court recognising the união de facto under Lei 7/2001 must be obtained before the nationality declaration is filed at IRN/CRC. This is the critical distinguishing feature of PT-MAR-02 versus PT-MAR-01.

3. No Art 6 n.1 f)-h) bars (Art 3 n.4):

• No final conviction to effective imprisonment exceeding 3 years for enumerated crimes (rebuttable presumption per Art 6 n.14).
• No security threat to national defence/public security/public order.
• No UN or EU restrictive measures.

5. No requirement for legal residence, language, or cultural integration as standalone conditions. These may be assessed by the MP in any opposition proceedings as indicators of effective community links, but do not constitute independent threshold requirements.

6. Dual nationality: Portugal does not require renunciation of prior nationality for Art 3 n.3 acquisition.

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1. Step 1 — Judicial recognition of the união de facto: Petition the competent Portuguese civil court under Lei 7/2001. The court evaluates evidence of cohabitation, mutual assistance, and union duration. Processing times vary by court; on typical timelines (no T1 official figure). Obtain certified copy of the sentença.

2. Step 2 — File the declaração de vontade at IRN/CRC: File at the Conservatória dos Registos Centrais (headquarters: Rua Rodrigo da Fonseca 198, Lisboa; can also be filed at consulates abroad for non-resident applicants). The sentença (certified) is the key prerequisite document.

3. Step 3 — IRN registration: IRN/CRC registers the declaration in the RNI. Acquisition effects date from registration (Art 12 Lei 37/81).

4. Step 4 — MP opposition window (2 years from registration): The Ministério Público receives notification and has 2 years to oppose on Art 9 n.1 a) effective-links grounds (or Art 6 f-h grounds at any time until bar). Safe-harbour: no opposition on effective-links grounds (except f-h) if union exceeds 6 years OR common PT-national children exist.

5. Appeals: Refusals or successful MP oppositions may be challenged before the administrative courts. The STA is the appellate administrative court for nationality matters (since LO 2/2006). TC Ac. 768/2024 / Dec. Sumária 78/2025 / TC Ac. 522/2025 confirm a Regulation cannot override Art 10 Lei 37/81 on opposition timing.

Primary authorities: IRN / Conservatória dos Registos Centrais (CRC) · Ministério Público (opposition) · Competent civil court (Lei 7/2001 recognition) · Administrative courts / STA (appeals)

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Art 3 n.4 (new, LO 1/2026): Acquisition via união de facto is conditional on non-verification of Art 6 n.1 f)-h): (f) no conviction to effective imprisonment exceeding 3 years for enumerated crimes (terrorism, violent/especially-violent, highly-organised, State-security, aiding illegal immigration; threshold corrected by Declaração de Retificação 17/2026; rebuttable presumption per Art 6 n.14); (g) no security threat to national defence/public security/public order; (h) no UN or EU restrictive measures under Lei 97/2017. Alíneas a)-e) and i) of Art 6 n.1 (age, residence, language/culture, civics, solemn declaration, subsistence) are NOT imported — they apply to naturalisation routes only.

Art 9 n.1 a) (LO 1/2026 reformed): The MP may oppose the acquisition on the ground of inexistência de laços de efetiva ligação à comunidade nacional, measured against the Art 6(1)(c)-(i) yardstick (which includes language, culture/history, civics, solemn declaration, criminal, security, UN/EU measures, and subsistence — used as an evaluative benchmark, not as a formal requirement the applicant must independently meet). TC Acórdão 1133/2025 struck the second part of Art 9 n.1 a) (the "ostensiva rejection" vague language); the first part (absence of effective community links) survives.

Art 9 n.2 (safe-harbour): No MP opposition is permitted (except on Art 6 f-h grounds) where the união exceeds SIX YEARS or where there are common children holding Portuguese nationality.

Art 10 n.1 (MP opposition window): The MP must file any opposition within TWO YEARS from the date of registration of the nationality declaration in the RNI. ( PT-VC-014: 2 years, not 1 year.)

Effects: Acquisition produces effects from the date of registration (Art 12 Lei 37/81) — acquired (concessão), not originária. The foreign national does not need to renounce their prior nationality.

Lei 7/2001: Lei n.º 7/2001 de 11 de maio (Adopta medidas de protecção das uniões de facto) governs the civil recognition procedure for uniões de facto in Portugal. Recognition is obtained by petition to the competent civil court (typically the local Tribunal de Família e Menores or Tribunal Cível) establishing the union's existence, duration, and seriousness. A certified copy of the sentença is the prerequisite document for the Art 3 n.3 nationality declaration.

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