Portugal News

Lisbon April 3, 2026 — Portugal’s Parliament has re-approved its proposed nationality law reform on April 1, 2026, marking a significant political step forward for a measure that has already faced judicial resistance. Backed by PSD, Chega, IL, and CDS-PP, the reform seeks to extend the residency requirement for citizenship from five years to ten years for most applicants, and to seven years for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries.

Lisbon March 13, 2026 — Recent media reports have created confusion among immigrants and nationality applicants about possible changes to Portugal’s nationality law. Some reports suggested that the law could soon move forward again with only minor adjustments. However, the legal situation is more complex following the ruling of the Constitutional Court of Portugal.

Feb 16, 2026 — In Lisbon’s political corridors, the debate over Portugal’s nationality law is moving again, though slowly and mostly behind committee doors. After the Constitutional Court struck down several provisions late last year, the bill did not disappear; it was sent back to Parliament to be rewritten. Since then, parties have been working through the legal objections, consulting constitutional experts and negotiating possible revisions that could survive another review.

Lisbon Feb 10, 2026 — The Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) has announced that holders of a residence permit for study who have not completed their academic curriculum but are currently working in Portugal may apply for a temporary residence permit under paragraph j) of No. 1, Article 122 of Law No. 23/2007 of 4 July, provided they have not been absent from Portugal.

Applications must be submitted online through the official contact form at contactenos.aima.gov.pt, selecting:

Lisbon, 08 Feb, 2026 — Exit polls released by Portuguese broadcaster RTP, based on projections prepared with Universidade Católica, indicate a strong lead for Socialist candidate António José Seguro in the country’s presidential runoff, suggesting he is on course to win the election.

According to the exit-poll projection, Seguro is estimated to have received between 68% and 73% of the vote, while far-right candidate André Ventura is projected at between 27% and 32%.

Lisbon, Feb 4, 2026 — The moderate Socialist candidate in Portugal's presidential election is poised to secure a decisive victory over the far-right populist leader in the second round, according to a new poll.

António José Seguro, former Socialist leader, leads with 67% of voting intentions, against 33% for the leader of the anti-establishment party Chega, André Ventura, according to a survey conducted by the Catholic University and released by the broadcaster RTP this Tuesday.

Lisbon, Feb 01 — “We are facing a meteorological phenomenon never seen before,” the Prime Minister stated. This Sunday, the death toll rose to nine.

The Council of Ministers meeting this Sunday resulted in a series of measures for families and businesses affected by Storm Kristin. Luís Montenegro announced support amounting to €2.5 billion to face the effects of a "meteorological phenomenon never seen before".

Immigrants already play a central role in contributions, but obstacles to integration threaten the future balance of Social Security.

Lisbon Jan 29, 2026 — Portugal will need 1.3 million new workers by 2030 to ensure the financial balance of its Social Security system, according to a study developed by the Prepara Portugal Training Center, based on data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (Aima), Pordata, and the social security system itself.

The petitions refer to a decree predating the new nationality law and request that the time period be counted from the first application, not from the date of the residence permit.

PSD and Chega criticized two petitions discussed in a parliamentary committee on Tuesday, requesting that the deadlines for granting Portuguese nationality be counted from the date of the application and not from the date the residence certificate is issued, due to problems with the system.

Lisbon Jan 22, 2026 — In a significant development ahead of Portugal’s presidential election runoff, former Social Democratic Party (PSD) figure Luís Marques Mendes has publicly declared his support for Socialist candidate António José Seguro in the upcoming second round scheduled for 8 February 2026.