In a note published on the official website of the Presidency of the Republic, António José Seguro reaffirms the understanding he expressed as a presidential candidate that this matter should "be based on greater consensus around its essential lines," distancing himself from any "ideological marks of the moment".

"The President of the Republic's decision to promulgate the law was influenced by the understanding that the more demanding criteria and the increase in the timeframes for acquiring nationality do not impede the essential humanitarian protection and the desirable integration of children and minors born in Portugal to immigrants, as established in the national legal framework, particularly access to health and education," the note reads.

Protecting children and minors

In his message, António José Seguro argues that, in this matter, "any future legislative changes and the formulation of new public policies should always pay special attention to the protection and integration of children and minors born in Portugal."

Changes to the Nationality Law

The revised Nationality Law, as enacted, increases the timeframes for foreigners legally residing in Portugal to acquire Portuguese nationality and restricts its attribution to those born in Portugal – rules that were already present in the previous version and regarding which there was political debate, but regarding which no questions of constitutionality were raised.

This decree was approved in parliament on 1 April, in a second version, after unconstitutionalities declared by the Constitutional Court (TC), by PSD, Chega, IL and CDS-PP, with votes against from PS, Livre, PCP, BE, and PAN, and abstention from JPP, and went to the Belém Palace on 13 April. The President of the Republic had until 3 May to enact or veto it.

On the same date and with the same vote, the decree amending the Penal Code to create the accessory penalty of loss of nationality was also approved in parliament, in a second version, after the Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional – in this case, all of them unanimously. On 21 April, the Socialist Party submitted this decree for a new preventive constitutional review. The Constitutional Court has 25 days to rule on this request.

The majority with which these two decrees were approved, exceeding two-thirds of the deputies present, allows for their eventual confirmation in parliament, both in the event of a veto by the President of the Republic and in the event of unconstitutionalities declared by the Constitutional Court, under the terms of the Constitution.

Opinion of the Constitutional Court

In the judgment of 15 December on the amendments to the Nationality Law, the Constitutional Court ruled only on a small part of the decree's provisions, as covered by the Socialist Party's request for review, declaring four of them unconstitutional, three unanimously. After reformulating these rules, the Socialist Party (PS) decided, this time, not to submit the new decree to preventive constitutional review.

The President of the Republic also decided not to submit any rules of the Nationality Law to the Constitutional Court.

Unconstitutionalities altered

In the note he promulgated, Antonio José Seguro says that the rules declared unconstitutional "were globally revised in the new legislation, to overcome the unconstitutionalities declared in the aforementioned decision."

"However, despite the parliamentary majority that approved the legislation, the President of the Republic reiterates that the revision of a law of reinforced value with the importance of the Nationality Law should also be based on greater consensus around its essential lines," he adds.

Reducing successive amendments

According to the Head of State, "this distancing would recommend that the Nationality Law not be subject to successive amendments, to the detriment of legal certainty and, consequently, of people and the risk of affecting the indispensable credibility of institutions."

What the law suggests

Currently, minors born in Portuguese territory who have one parent residing in the country for at least one year are considered Portuguese by origin, regardless of their legal status. This right will be limited to those with one parent legally residing in Portugal for at least 5 years.

The period of legal residence required to acquire Portuguese nationality, currently five years, is increased to seven years for citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries and the European Union, and to ten years for nationals of other countries.

The regimes for granting nationality to descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews, implemented in 2015, and to those born in former Portuguese overseas territories that became independent and remained in Portugal, and to their children born here, which aimed to safeguard cases not covered by the 1975 law, are eliminated.

This process of revising the Nationality Law originated with a Government proposal and was later transformed into two bills by PSD and CDS-PP, which justified the autonomation of the loss of nationality as an accessory penalty due to doubts about its constitutionality, without, however, abandoning the proposal.