Citizens who are married or in a stable union (in this case, citizen must have a Court Order recognizing the stable union issued by a Portuguese Court, or if issued abroad, it must be recognized/confirmed by the portuguese Court of Appeal) with a Portuguese citizen may apply for portuguese nationality under the terms of article 3.1 or 3.3 of the portuguese nationality law, respectively, provided they meet the respective requirements and obtain the documents required by law.
Requirements:
a) The existence of an effective link with the national community;
b) Not having been convicted, with a final judgment, of a prison sentence of three years or more, for a crime punishable under portuguese law;
c) Not having exercised public functions that were not predominantly technical in nature or having performed non-compulsory military service for a foreign State.
d) The absence of danger or threat to national security or defense, due to their involvement in activities related to the practice of terrorism, under the terms of the respective law.
– The existence of an effective connection to the national community is presumed in the following cases:
1 – When the marriage or the stable union has been in existence for at least six years:
That is: If the applicant for Portuguese nationality through marriage or the stable union (in the case of the stable union, a recognized court ruling must be issued) has been married or has lived in a stable union for at least 6 (six) years, he/she already meets the requirement of connection to the Portuguese community, even if the couple does not have Portuguese children, nor do they reside in Portugal or speak Portuguese, and must now meet the remaining requirements:
– No criminal conviction with a prison sentence of three years or more for a crime punishable in Portugal and does not constitute a danger or threat to national security or defense.
– And present the following documents: – Birth certificate (preferably a photocopy of the original book) apostilled or legalized at the consulate, depending on whether the country of origin has adhered to the Hague Convention or not and translated into Portuguese, – criminal records from the country of birth and nationality and from all countries where the person has lived after the age of 16, duly legalized and translated into Portuguese, – birth certificate of the Portuguese spouse, marriage certificate transcribed in Portugal, if performed abroad, – authenticated and legalized copies of the passport or other identification document.
Example: A citizen of American nationality who has been married or has been living in a stable union with a Portuguese citizen in Canada for at least six years and has no Portuguese children from the marriage, already meets the requirement of connection to the Portuguese community, even without ever having resided in Portugal or speaking Portuguese, as long as he/she meets the other requirements.
2 – Or when, regardless of the duration, (at least three years) the couple have common children with Portuguese nationality
– If the applicants for nationality through marriage or a stable union are married or have lived together for at least three years and have common Portuguese children, the applicant already meets the requirement of connection to the Portuguese community, and must now meet the other requirements and present the necessary documents.
3 – Be a natural and national of a Portuguese-speaking country, married or living in a stable union for at least five years, with a Portuguese national of origin;
In other words: In this case, if the applicant for Portuguese nationality through marriage or in a stable union (with a Recognized Court Sentence) is originally from a Portuguese-speaking country and the Portuguese spouse is Portuguese by origin, the requirement of connection to the Portuguese community is already met if they have been married or have lived in a stable union for at least 5 (five) years. They must now meet the other requirements already listed above and present the documents also listed above.
Example: An Angolan citizen of origin is married or has been living in a stable union (in this case with a revised court ruling/confirmed by the Lisbon Court of Appeal) with a Portuguese citizen of origin for at least 5 (five) years, they reside in Angola and do not have Portuguese children from the marriage, in this case the Angolan citizen can already apply for Portuguese nationality, as long as he/she meets the other requirements and presents the necessary documents.
4 – Has sufficient knowledge of the Portuguese language, as long as he/she has been married or has been living in a stable union (with a recognised court ruling) with a Portuguese citizen of origin for at least five years;
That is: In this case, if the applicant for nationality through marriage or the stable union has sufficient knowledge of the Portuguese language (generally holding a Portuguese language certificate at level A2) and has been married to a Portuguese citizen of origin for at least 5 years.
In other words: In this case, if the applicant for nationality through marriage or the stable union has sufficient knowledge of the Portuguese language (generally, if he/she holds a Portuguese language certificate at level A2) and has been married to a Portuguese citizen for at least 5 years, he/she also meets the requirement of connection to the Portuguese community, even if he/she does not reside in Portugal and does not have Portuguese children from the marriage.
5 – The connection to the Portuguese community for applicants who have been married or in a stable union for at least three years and do not meet the above-mentioned hypotheses may also apply for nationality by proving their connection to the Portuguese community through:
– Trips made to Portugal
– Investments made in Portugal, such as the purchase of property, bank accounts, businesses,
– Attendance of courses in Portugal
– Having worked in Portugal and paid taxes in Portugal
– Having contributed in some way to the Portuguese community, etc.
– Having knowledge of the Portuguese language
– Having residency in Portugal
The success of this hypothesis will be at the discretion of the Central Registry Office.
Note:
– Legal residence in Portuguese territory and knowledge of the Portuguese language are proven under the terms of article 25 of the Portuguese nationality regulations.
– Applicants who have lived in a stable union for more than three years and wish to apply for Portuguese nationality must be in possession of a Court Sentence of Recognition of Stable Union filed in Portugal in the Civil Courts against the Portuguese State, or if the Sentence was issued by a foreign Court, the foreign Stable Union Recognition Sentence must be recognized/confirmed by the Court of Appeal in Portugal. Only after this recognition can citizens apply for Portuguese nationality at the Central Registry Office.
– Documents issued in English, French and Spanish do not require translation and may be accepted in that language, without prejudice to the translation being requested if the Registrar analyzing the case so requires.
For an analysis of your specific case, please contact the office.