Residence permit of Portugal: citizenship conditions for children have been simplified and the validity of gold visas has been increased

Portugal has accelerated citizenship registration for resident children. The child can acquire citizenship if two conditions are met.

1. The baby was born in Portugal.

2. Parents have lived in Portugal for at least 1 year on the basis of residence permit status.

Previously, parents had to have lived in Portugal with a residence permit for at least 2 years in order for the children to acquire citizenship.

The Portuguese Citizenship Law has been amended accordingly. The exact date of entry into force of the amendments is not yet known — it is no longer than 90 days from the date of their publication in the official Diário da República newspaper.

As explained by the head of the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Constança Urbano de Sousa, 1 year is the period that the EU and UN use to separate immigration from tourism and business travel. Thus, reducing the length of stay in residence permit status for parents is justified in terms of standardization of EU legislation.

Thus, the grandsons of the investor will also be able to acquire Portuguese citizenship if their parents become citizens by birth. If the children of the investor have obtained citizenship by naturalization (after 5 years of Golden Visa), the grandchildren of the investor will not be able to apply for citizenship.

Investors who have applied for a residence permit in Portugal for investment on or after April 1, 2020, will extend their status under the new schedule. The period after which you need to extend the status for the first time has increased from 1 year to 2 years. The period of subsequent renewals has not changed and is 2 years.

Investors who have applied before April 1 will apply for the first extension in a year, i.e. according to the old rules.

*The application for a residence permit in Portugal for investment is filed no earlier than 1 April 2020.

The Portuguese residence permit programme for investment allows for the application for citizenship after 5 years of maintaining the status. Thus, it is important for investors to know the schedule for the renewal of residence permit in the first 5 years of residence. If necessary, the extension for a longer period is also issued every 2 years.

Portuguese "Golden Visas" are popular with investors from all over the world. Earlier we said that May 2020 set a record for the number of approved applications — the result covered the decline due to the pandemic.

Portugal has a low crime rate and is friendly towards migrants. The country was ranked 3rd in the Global Peace Index 2020. Experts note the link between the country’s position in the list and the level of welfare and education of its citizens.