Portuguese nationality law
Children born outside Portuguese territory did not receive citizenship unless their in-wedlock father or out-of-wedlock mother was in royal service abroad.[4] The 1867/1868 Civil Code provisions provided the details for the 1826 charter's broad language, including the ability for a child to opt out by declaration from the automatic jus soli citizenship for persons born in Portugal to a foreign father or out-of-wedlock mother.[4] Loss occurred with naturalisation in another country (but only for the individual concerned, not a wife or child unless they declared otherwise); accepting without permission a foreign government's public office, pension, or honors; expulsion by judicial decision; and marriage by a Portuguese woman to a foreign man if the woman acquired her husband's citizenship by marriage.Decree-Law 308/75 of 24 June 1975 was a response to the loss of Portuguese citizenship by many people born in former territories of Portugal in Africa and elsewhere that had acquired independence.[4][6] Special rules exist concerning the acquisition of Portuguese citizenship through connections with Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Goa, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Macau and São Tomé and Príncipe.[8] In Goa, Daman and Diu, residents automatically became Indian citizens on 20 December 1961 unless they had made a written declaration before this date stating their intention to retain their existing nationality.It is no longer possible to acquire Portuguese citizenship by connection with Macau before 3 October 1981 and after 20 December 1999 transfer of sovereignty to China, except by birth or association with the territory previous to that date.[18] The Portuguese Constitution of 1976 introduced the principles of non-discrimination on the basis of sex and marital status of parents at birth, and a fundamental right to citizenship.The political parties of Portugal agreed that new nationality legislation was required to achieve compatibility with the constitution, and finally approved it in 1981.[4] Jus soli citizenship, in contrast, was restricted to require expression of intent and either of the parents having lived in Portugal for at least six years beforehand.[19] Portuguese citizens have since been able to work in other EC/EU countries under the freedom of movement for workers established by the 1957 Treaty of Rome[20] and participated in their first European Parliament elections in 1987.[21] With the creation of European Union citizenship by the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, free movement rights were extended to all nationals of EU member states regardless of their employment status.[22] The scope of these rights was further expanded with the establishment of the European Economic Area in 1994 to include any national of an EFTA member state except for Switzerland,[23] which concluded a separate free movement agreement with the EU that came into force in 2002.[24] In response to an increase in the 1990s of unlawful immigration into Portugal, the governing coalition amended the 1981 act by limiting jus soli and naturalisation.[4] The election of a Socialist Party-led government in 2005 gave rise to the passage of a bill to modernize Portuguese nationality law, in recognition of the impact of years of immigration into the country.[4] Double jus soli was introduced, with citizenship automatically extended to individuals with a parent also born in Portuguese territory who resided there at the time of the child's birth.[4][25] Naturalisation for children was made available to those who had a parent who resided legally in Portugal for at least five years or who completed the first cycle of basic education.[40] Any person convicted of a crime resulting in imprisonment for more than three years or who otherwise presents a threat to national defence is barred from naturalising.'[44] In 2020 there were reports that changes to the Law of Return were proposed which would restrict eligibility for citizenship to people who had lived in Portugal for two years.[citation needed] The Portuguese parliament passed legislation facilitating the naturalisation of descendants of 16th-century Jews who fled because of religious persecution.Furthermore, applicants must be able to prove an "emotional and traditional connection with the former Portuguese Sephardic Community," commonly established through a letter from an Orthodox rabbi confirming Jewish heritage.[55] After some notorious cases where it was reported that people without a valid claim had been granted citizenship, with falsification of documents and other misdeeds, the Portuguese government on 9 March 2022 implemented a decree-law to increase scrutiny of candidates, who will have to prove an "effective connection with Portugal".