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 published eligibility criteria.

The route has been part of Lei 37/81 since the founding text (W2, 1981) and was not substantively altered by LO 1/2026. Its internal Art 6 number is n.9 under the LO 1/2026 consolidated text (pgdlisboa 13ª versão), a position confirmed after the revocation of n.os 5, 7, and 13 removed those slots.

Because the discretionary assessment is opaque and unpublished, this route is inappropriate as a planning instrument for prospective applicants. It is documented here for completeness of the PT nationality universe and for reference in edge-case enquiries.

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There is no statutory list of objective eligibility conditions beyond the performance of "relevant services" to Portugal. The following is synthesised from the statute and general administrative-law principles:

1. Relevant services to the Portuguese State. The statute uses the phrase "serviços relevantes prestados ao Estado Português." No statutory or regulatory definition of "relevant" is published. In practice, the route has historically been used for distinguished contributions in areas such as diplomacy, defence, scientific research, sport, arts, or exceptional humanitarian action. The assessment is non-justiciable in its substantive core (STA Proc. 0219/10, 14-02-2019: the administration cannot add unlegislated conditions, but equally cannot be compelled to grant a discretionary benefit).

2. Dispensation from residence (Art 6 n.1 b) and language/culture (Art 6 n.1 c): Expressly waived. No minimum period of legal residence in Portugal is required. No A2 CEFR language certificate or equivalent is required.

3. Remaining Art 6 n.1 conditions: The statute does not expressly waive alíneas a), d), e), f), g), h), or i). The Government retains discretion to consider any of these. In particular:

• Alínea f) criminal bar (pena de prisão efetiva superior a 3 anos for enumerated crimes, Declaração de Retificação 17/2026) applies as a rebuttable presumption (Art 6 n.14).
• Alínea h) UN/EU restrictive measures bar applies.
• Alínea g) security-threat assessment applies.

4. Dual nationality: Portugal allows dual nationality without general restriction; Art 6 n.9 grants do not require renunciation of prior nationality.

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Given the absence of published procedural norms, the following is derived from the general administrative nationality process and the statute:

| Evidence of services | Documentary evidence of the nature, scope, and impact of the services; this is the substantive core of the application | | Identity documents | Valid passport or equivalent; birth certificate | | Criminal record | Portuguese criminal record certificate and certificate(s) from the country of nationality and countries of residence; relevant to Art 6 n.1 f) assessment | | Security clearance | The Ministry may seek SIRP/intelligence input under Art 6 n.1 g) |

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1. Initiation: The applicant (or a sponsoring authority) addresses a requerimento to the Ministro da Justiça through the Ministry of Justice.
2. Assessment: The Ministry conducts an internal review of the services rendered and may consult other government departments, intelligence services, or advisory bodies. No published timeline exists.
3. Decision: Government resolution (despacho or Conselho de Ministros resolution) granting or refusing nationality. The grant is discretionary; no obligation to grant arises even if services are acknowledged.
4. Registration: Positive decision registered in the Registo Nacional de Identificação (RNI) by IRN/CRC.
5. Effects: Nationality takes effect from the date of registration (Art 12 Lei 37/81). Not originária — does not alter descent-chain position.
6. Appeals: Refusal of a discretionary grant is generally not subject to full-merits administrative appeal given the purely discretionary nature. Legal challenge limited to procedural grounds before the administrative courts / STA.

Primary authority: Ministério da Justiça Registration: IRN / Conservatória dos Registos Centrais (CRC), via the Registo Nacional de Identificação

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The dispensation is express and broad: the two most onerous objective thresholds (7/10-year legal residence under Art 6 n.1 b), and the language/culture/history/symbols battery under Art 6 n.1 c) as expanded by LO 1/2026) are waived. No other alíneas of Art 6 n.1 are expressly waived by n.9, meaning the remaining conditions — majority (a), civics knowledge (d), solemn democratic declaration (e), criminal bar (f, as rectified), absence of security threat (g), absence of UN/EU restrictive measures (h), and subsistence capacity (i) — are not automatically dispensed. However, given the wholly exceptional and discretionary nature of the grant, the Government exercises wide latitude in assessing whether any of these remaining bars applies.

The resulting nationality is naturalisation (concessão), not originária attribution. Effects run from the date of registration (Art 12 Lei 37/81), not from birth.

Governing authority: Ministro da Justiça (formal grant); IRN/CRC (Conservatória dos Registos Centrais) for registration.

No published regulation governs the selection criteria. The Regulamento da Nacionalidade (DL 237-A/2006, as amended) does not contain a specific procedural chapter for Art 6 n.9. Procedural mechanics remain at the discretion of the Ministry of Justice. The pending Regulamento update mandated by LO 1/2026 Art 7 (expected by approximately 16 August 2026) may or may not add procedural detail.

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