Ukrainians in Portugal now need to live on its territory for twice as long to obtain citizenship

Portugal has officially tightened the rules for obtaining citizenship for foreigners. Now, most migrants, including Ukrainians, will have to live in the country for at least 10 years instead of the previous five. The new requirements have already been signed by the country's president. This is reported by Visit Ukraine.

Portugal has increased the residence period for citizenship

The main change concerns the duration of legal residence required to apply for citizenship.

Now the rules look like this:

1. 10 years of residence — for most foreigners;

2. 7 years — for citizens of the EU and Portuguese-speaking countries;

3. the counting starts only after obtaining a residence permit.

Previously, the period was counted from the moment of submitting documents for legalization. Because of this, the actual path to obtaining a passport for many migrants will become even longer.

In addition, the authorities have tightened checks on the criminal and legal history of foreigners during their stay in the country.

How the new rules will affect Ukrainians in Portugal

For Ukrainian citizens, the general requirement will apply — at least 10 years of legal residence, as Ukraine is not part of the European Union and is not part of the Portuguese-speaking community.

The rules for children born in Portugal have also changed. Now, for automatic acquisition of citizenship, parents must live in the country for at least 5 years instead of one year as before.

At the same time, the Portuguese authorities have stated that the changes will not have a retroactive effect. Applications for citizenship that have already been submitted will continue to be processed under the old rules.

In recent years, Portugal has remained one of the most open countries in Europe for the naturalization of foreigners. After the start of the full-scale war, the number of Ukrainians with temporary protection and residence permits has significantly increased.

For Ukrainians, this means that obtaining a Portuguese passport will now become a longer and more complicated process, especially for those who are only planning to legalize in the country.

It should be noted that Ukraine and Portugal have signed an agreement on cooperation in the production of marine drones.