Rule change, Portugal
Portugal now asks for 7 or 10 years of residence for citizenship
The 5-year route to a Portuguese passport ended on 19 May 2026. Here is the new rule and what it means for your time abroad.
Published . This post explains a rule. It is not legal or tax advice.
What changed
Organic Law 1/2026 of 18 May 2026 changed the Portuguese Nationality Law (Law 37/81). It is in force from 19 May 2026. Before that date, 5 years of legal residence were enough to apply for citizenship by naturalisation. Now you need:
- 7 years of legal residence if you are a national of a country with Portuguese as an official language, or a citizen of an EU member state.
- 10 years of legal residence if you are a national of any other country.
The years do not have to be in a row. But all of them must fall inside 9 years for the 7-year group, or inside 12 years for the 10-year group.
Who is affected
Everyone who applies on or after 19 May 2026. Applications that were already pending on that date follow the earlier text of the law.
How time abroad counts
The Nationality Law sets no number of days that you may spend outside Portugal. What it asks for is legal residence, and you reside legally only while you hold a valid visa, permit or other title. So time abroad matters through your residence permit:
- A temporary residence permit can be cancelled when you are away for 6 months in a row, or for 8 months in total while the permit is valid, without a good reason (Law 23/2007, article 85). A first permit is valid for 2 years and each renewal for 3 years.
- A permanent residence permit has longer limits: 24 months in a row, or 30 months in total within 3 years.
- The permit does not end by itself on the day you pass a limit. The authority decides, and it looks at the whole situation.
If a permit is cancelled or not renewed, your legal residence stops on that date. A later permit starts a new period. With a longer qualifying time, there are more years in which one long absence can cost you the permit, so it is worth watching every long trip.
What to do now
- Count your years of legal residence again against 7 or 10, not 5.
- Keep every single absence under 6 months and your total absences under 8 months inside each permit.
- If you must stay away longer, ask AIMA to accept the absence before you leave.
The full rule, with worked examples, is on the page Portugal Temporary Residence — Longest Time Away.
Official sources
- Diário da República, Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026, de 18 de maio
- Nationality Law, Lei n.º 37/81, articles 6 and 15, current text
- Law 23/2007, article 85, cancelling a residence permit
The rules in this post
- Portugal Temporary Residence — Longest Time Away: 180 days away in one trip
- Portugal Permanent Residence — Longest Time Away: 729 days away in one trip
- Portugal Permanent Residence — Total Time Away: 910 days away in any 3 years
- Portugal Tax Residence: 183 midnights in any 12 months
Countr can count this for you.
It finds your past trips in your photos and counts the days for every rule you follow, on your phone.