Portugal Tightens Naturalization Rules, Ancestry Path Unchanged

Portugal's Organic Law 1/2026, effective May 19, 2026, raises the minimum residence period for naturalization from five to seven years for CPLP and EU citizens, but leaves the citizenship-by-descent route untouched. The reform targets residence-based applications, not ancestry claims, clarifying a point of confusion among Brazilian applicants. This signals a modest tightening of Portugal's citizenship regime without altering the popular Sephardic or descent pathways.