Portugal Citizenship By Descent

Portugal provides a clear route to citizenship by descent, especially for individuals with a Portuguese parent or grandparent. While grandparental lineage necessitates language proficiency and a proven connection to Portugal, there is no language requirement if your parent was Portuguese at the time of birth. Additionally, there's a specific provision for descendants of Sephardic Jews. The country has moderate requirements and processing times for citizenship by descent and is a popular destination for American tourists year-round.

An important condition is that the individual in the succession line of Portuguese citizenship has not lost his or her citizenship.

Who all can be included

Extend your benefits to your spouse, dependent children, and dependent parents.

Residency Requirement

The Portuguese golden visa residency requirement is very flexible, making it an attractive investment migration option for Americans. You can maintain your residency with just an average of seven days per year in Portugal.

When some countries require investors to stay in the country at least six months per year, Portugal only requires seven days. This allows you to maintain your current lifestyle in the United States while fulfilling the golden visa requirements and working towards citizenship by essentially taking a week-long vacation to Portugal once a year!

Citizenship Requirement

After five years of legal “residency” under the golden visa program, applicants may apply for Portuguese citizenship or permanent residency.

To qualify for citizenship, in addition to fulfilling the five years of investment, applicants must also learn basic Portuguese to an A2 level. However, in lieu of a language test, applicants may also attend 150 hours of virtual Portuguese language lessons from a government-approved language school. Upon completion of the 150 hours, the applicant is considered to have satisfied the language requirement.