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Portuguese citizenship law is changing - and it may actually be in your favor
Do not be in a hurry: Despite the headlines warning of the expected aggravation of Portuguese citizenship law, some of the expected changes in the law may be positive, especially for married couples
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Portuguese citizenship
Attorneys Adam and Yoni Yedid, in collaboration with Zap Legal website
Monday, 30 November 2020, 16:39
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Still dreaming of a Portuguese passport?
(Photo: ShutterStock)
About six months ago, a bill was submitted to the Portuguese Parliament calling for a change in the conditions of eligibility for citizenship.
Until the application is submitted, obtaining citizenship is conditional on proof of family ties to the deportees from Spain and Portugal, with no additional requirements such as cultural or language tests, proof of residency or waiver of existing citizenship.
The MPs who submitted the proposal demanded to add to the threshold conditions proof of a contemporary and substantial affiliation with Portugal, which was expected to impair the eligibility of many citizens seeking it.
The reasons for submitting the bill were the huge amount of applications submitted since the law was enacted in 2013 (over 25,000 applications were submitted in 2019 from Israel alone) and anger from various factors in Portugal over the cheapness of the procedure, mainly by commercial companies in Israel and Turkey.
According to the submitters of the proposal, the same companies treat the naturalization process inappropriately, and they mentioned again as an example the opening of citizens' stalls in malls, which market the procedure as the last of the commercial products.
Restriction of the right to citizenship - Really?
The bill was angrily passed by officials in the Portuguese parliament and the Jewish community.
Eventually, the bill was rejected, but it seems that among some of the legislators in Portugal there is still dissatisfaction with the situation.
The Portuguese president recently approved a renewed version of the law authorizing the government to regulate the procedure and make changes to it within a 90-day time window, which is expected to end this January.
Following this decision, a number of headlines were published in Israel warning of the expected aggravation at the end of this time window, stating that the government intends to implement the purpose of the original bill and restrict the right of deportees to Portuguese citizenship.
These calls have created pressure and a sense of urgency among many of the deportees seeking citizenship.
In our view,
interested parties have created unnecessary panic
, as most of the substantial changes that are expected to be made will be primarily for the better.
The best evidence of this is the clear statement of the President of Portugal, according to which the relief for the descendants of the deportees is enshrined in a law intended to remain.
Emphasizing the powers of officials
Although it is not known what the changes will be in full by the end of the time window allotted for their implementation, it can be assumed, in light of the recent attempt to change the legislation, from May, that the conditions of eligibility are not expected to worsen.
The amendment to the law, which the Portuguese authorities seek to carry out, is apparently intended mainly for the purpose of warning, and for the purpose of deterring commercial entities from conducting the proceedings in an improper manner, which harms the status and respect given to Portuguese citizenship.
The essence of the expected amendment will be to refine the definition of the powers of the Portuguese officials handling the requests, and to impose sanctions on requests coming through those who do not respect the procedure or those who do not implement the law properly.
In these cases, the amendment to the law states, the officials handling the application will be able to aggravate the conditions of eligibility and also demand proof of a contemporary affiliation with Portugal.
On the face of it, it does seem to be an aggravation, at least in those cases that are found to be inappropriate, but in fact, there is nothing new under the sun.
The ability of Portuguese Population Authority officials to demand such a requirement has existed since the beginning of the law, and will now be declared.
The main change - relief for married couples
Along with changes that constitute, in practice, no more than the series of the existing situation, there is a clear change for the better - significant relief for the spouses of the deportees' descendants and the process required of them to obtain citizenship themselves.
Until now, when the spouse of a person who received Portuguese citizenship did not have the appropriate roots to meet the citizenship conditions himself, he had to prove a dual affiliation with Portugal: wait until the spouse receives citizenship, undergo a marriage registration procedure proving that they are indeed married Law, and await confirmation of eligibility of a common offspring.
Only then could he apply himself.
Most of the families avoided the cumbersome procedure required for the spouses and children and contented themselves with the naturalization of one of the spouses, in accordance with the standard route of the Deportees Act.
The rest of the family was denied the range of benefits that come with citizenship, which includes freedom of movement, work and living in EU countries, excellent social conditions, free academic studies, visa waiver to the United States and more.
The expected amendment to the law will, it seems, facilitate the naturalization process of spouses who have been married for six years or more to a person who is found to be entitled to citizenship.
All that will be required of them is to go through a marriage registration procedure, and once it takes effect, they will be able to apply on their own without waiting for the descendants to qualify.
are married?
Apparently all this is in your favor (Photo: ShutterStock)
Do it right - today more than ever
As an office that has credited many citizens on the basis of proof of dual affiliation, and was among the few in the country to complete the process even before the current amendment, we see the expected amendment as proof of the Portuguese authorities' desire to facilitate family reunification.
Already now there is a dramatic increase in the number of requests for spouses and children.
In order to ensure that the procedure is carried out smoothly, efficiently and without sanctions, both in the usual route of the descendants of the deportees and in the routes intended for the spouses and children, it is recommended to submit the application through a lawyer who specializes in the field.
Contrary to the approach sought by the Portuguese authorities to eradicate, which treats the desired citizenship as a coveted product in the mall, the lawyer will provide a professional and orderly legal service, which meets all the requirements of Portuguese law and ultimately grants the applicant EU citizenship.
Attorneys Adam and June, a friend from the Notary David Friend, dealing published by Portuguese citizens and citizenships European and realization of rights for the elderly, with an emphasis on the rights of Holocaust survivors, torts and insurance.
Telephone: 053-9374940
for more details visit our website >>
Article courtesy of Zap Legal
Information The information presented in the article does not constitute legal advice or a substitute for it and does not constitute a recommendation for taking proceedings or avoiding proceedings. Anyone who relies on the information in the article does so at his own risk.
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