Portugal News

The Partido Socialista (PS) has formally requested a preventive review by the Tribunal Constitucional (TC) of two decrees amending the nationality law, identifying eight provisions they allege violate constitutional protections. Central to their concern is the transitional regime — particularly how it will affect immigrants who are already legally residing in Portugal but have not yet fulfilled the five-year residence requirement for Portuguese nationality. 

The President of the Republic stated today that he is awaiting his legal team's analysis of the decrees on nationality and reiterated that he wants to see the grounds presented by the Socialist Party for requesting a preventive review of constitutionality.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was speaking as he left the Euro-Americas Forum at the Carcavelos Campus of the Nova University of Lisbon, in response to questions from the media, who asked him if he had already made his assessment of the decrees on nationality and if he saw any constitutional problems with them.

As Portugal heads toward its presidential election on 18 January 2026, political observers are watching one of the country’s most unlikely players: the six-year-old far-right party Chega (“Enough”). While the party has surged in recent years, a newly published poll suggests its presidential hopes may be faltering — creating a pivotal moment in Portuguese politics.

The President of the Republic was reacting to the news that the Socialist Party will request a preventive review of the Nationality Law by the Constitutional Court.

The President of the Republic stated this Thursday that, in response to a request for preventive review of the Nationality Law made by the Socialist Party, he will wait for the Constitutional Court to issue its ruling before, possibly, "politically reconsidering the law."

In a decisive move, the parliamentary group of Partido Socialista (PS) has announced its intention to file a preventive constitutional review of the revised Lei da Nacionalidade (Nationality Law) with the Tribunal Constitucional. 

The legislative changes, recently approved by right-wing parties, are now under scrutiny for potential breaches of constitutional guarantees such as the “principle of trust” in administrative proceedings and the regime for loss of nationality as an accessory penalty.

Lisbon, 11 November 2025: The parliamentary decrees revising the Lei n.º 37/81 (Nationality Law) and introducing a new ground for loss of nationality have officially been forwarded to the office of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at the Palácio de Belém.

There are two decrees: one that provides for the loss of nationality as an accessory penalty in cases of serious crimes, and another that amends several articles, including the one that makes it no longer possible for parents to apply for nationality for babies born in the country.

If you’re an immigrant who had a baby in Portugal, a common question has been circulating among many families:

With the approval of the new Nationality Law in Parliament — although it’s not yet in effect — is it no longer possible to apply for Portuguese nationality through a baby born in Portugal?

Lisbon, 6 November 2025 —
Portugal’s long-debated reform of the Lei da Nacionalidade (Law No. 37/81) has inched one step closer to Belém. The Constitutional Affairs Committee of the Assembleia da República has formally approved the redação final — the final editorial text — of the government’s proposal to tighten access to Portuguese citizenship.

Task force created for the regularization of immigrants in Portugal will end on December 31 next. Agency estimates that more than 600 thousand immigrants passed through the 20 posts of the structure.

Presidential candidate André Ventura today accused the President of the Republic of conditioning the approval of the new laws on foreigners and nationality, and criticized him for his silence on the health situation.