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Nationality establishes to which country or countries a person's rights and duties are attached. And it can change throughout life. Portuguese nationality can be acquired at birth or during life, and can also be lost.

Portuguese law allows a Portuguese to have other nationalities. Therefore, it is not necessary to give up another nationality to acquire Portuguese nationality. However, the laws of other countries may require you to give up Portuguese nationality in order to have nationality of one of those countries.

The Portuguese legislation in this regard are:  

• Nationality Law and 

• Portuguese Nationality Regulation

There are several ways to acquire Portuguese nationality

In this guide, the rules for acquiring nationality are organized by profiles, depending on where people were born, how many years they have lived in Portugal, the nationality of family members, the relationship with the Portuguese community, among others. 

Select the option that best suits your situation to find out if you fit into any of the profiles.

To find out, select one of the options:

Are you married or living in a de facto relationship with a Portuguese

It was adopted by Portuguese

Born in Portugal

Born abroad and:

• Is your father or mother Portuguese? 

• One of your grandfathers or grandmothers is Portuguese.

Lives in Portugal, is over 18 years old or is legally emancipated and:

• Have legally resided in Portugal for at least 5 years

• He was born in Portugal and has lived regularly in the country for the last 10 years.

He was once Portuguese and lost his nationality

You can also apply for Portuguese nationality if:

• you are under 18 or disabled and your father or mother acquired Portuguese nationality after you were born

• is a member of a Portuguese community abroad

• has provided relevant services to the Portuguese State or the Portuguese community

• Is a descendant of Portuguese safarist Jews