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Portuguese Citizenship for Sephardic Jews – Change the History

Oct 25, 2021

Adriana Carreira Pereira

Sephardic Jews are a Jewish ethnic division originating in traditionally established communities in the Iberian Peninsula. These communities have different traditions, rituals and even a different language from other Jewish ethnic divisions originating in the Eastern or in Central Europe.

Sephardic Jews are believed to have arrived in the Iberian Peninsula even before the Roman Empire was established throughout Europe.

In the late 15th and early 16th century, due to Catholic Monarchs’ desire to establish religious unity in the country, Sephardic Jews were forced to convert to Catholicism (called “New Christians”), keep their practices in secret and even then, forced into exile.

They left Portugal settling all over the world as the United Kingdom, Turkey, some countries in the Middle East, United States of America and Latin America. Some investigators even say that most Brazilian citizens have at least one Sephardic ancestor.

In order to repair the historical damage done to the Sephardic community due to their persecution and expulsion under the Inquisition, both Portugal and Spain approved laws granting citizenship for the Sephardic descendants.

Spain gave the Sephardic community a deadline to file their applications, which ended in 2019.

However, Portugal is still accepting and granting citizenship to those who are able to prove their descendance. In this view under Portuguese law, Portuguese citizenship may be acquired by naturalisation, provided that the applicant:

is major or emancipated under the Portuguese law;
is a descendant of Portuguese Sephardic Jews;
belongs to a Sephardic community of Portuguese origin;
has not been convicted pursuant final judgment of sentence, for committing a crime punishable with a maximum prison sentence equal to or exceeding three years, under Portuguese law;
has not been involved in terrorism-connected activities.

Considering this historical heritage, the Portuguese Citizenship Act grants the descendants of Portugal’s Sephardic Jews, the opportunity to acquire Portuguese Nationality. Please contact us if you wish to know more about how to apply.

Adriana Carreira Pereira

Immigration Consultant

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Benefits of Personal Income Tax for Young Professionals

by Diogo Pedro • 07 May, 2024

Over the past four years, young workers who earned their first income as employees or self-employed individuals have been eligible for a tax benefit in their personal income tax, known as 'IRS Jovem”. This benefit is intended to offer young workers the possibility of minimising their tax obligations, allowing for a higher amount of disposable income. To enjoy this benefit, taxpayers are required to comply with the following requirements: Have a complete course of level 4 or higher studies on the National Qualifications Framework (high school level acquired through double certification and aimed at pursuing higher education such as a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, or a PhD). Age between 18 and 26 years old. Considered independent, i.e., no longer included in the parent’s household for tax purposes. The specified age limit includes individuals up to 26 years old, inclusive. However, this limit is extended to 30 years old for taxpayers who have completed a degree at level 8 of the National Qualifications Framework (PhD). In 2024, this tax benefit has been improved, with increased tax exemption rates and an expanded range of applications over time. In this sense, upon completing the course of studies required, the individual may qualify for an exemption from personal income taxes for a duration of 5 years, as explained in the following details: 100% of the income in the first year with a cap of 40 times the Social Support Index – “IAS” value (€20.370,40). 75% of the income in the second year with a cap of 30 times the IAS value (€15.277,80). 50% of the income in the third and fourth year with a cap of 20 times the IAS value (€10.185,20). 25% of the income in the fifth year with a cap of 10 times the IAS value (5€.092,60). Moreover, the exemption can only be used once by the same taxpayer and should be requested when preparing and filing the personal income tax return. It is also important to acknowledge that this benefit has implications for withholding tax, allowing adjustments to the value subject to withholding tax. However, be aware that, while the withholding tax rate applied corresponds to the total amount of income earned, it is only applicable to the portion that is not exempt. If you have any questions or need assistance with this or related matters, feel free to reach out . We would be delighted to help you.

Being an urgent process, this legal action has priority over legal actions not deemed to be urgent.

My application has been pending for months with the Immigration Office - AIMA. What can be done?

by Sara Ferreira • 29 Apr, 2024

It is known to the general public that the Portuguese Immigration Office (AIMA) has not been able to timely approve residency authorisation requests within the legal timeframe defined to do so, thus resulting in residency applicants having their applications on hold for months, in some cases even years. One way to tackle this inaction from the Immigration Office is to file a legal action, namely the Subpoena for rights, freedoms and guarantees of the citizens.