Portuguese Citizenship Requests at All Time High
31 August 2020
According to the latest Immigration, Borders and Asylum Report (RIFA) by the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) the foreign resident population in Portugal has increased for the fourth consecutive year (22,9%), being the highest since 1976. Moreover, 2019 had the highest value of the last five years, concerning the new applications for Portuguese nationality – more than 74,000.
The Brazilian population is the main foreign community residing in Portugal (25,6% of the total of foreign resident citizens), followed by Cape Verdeans (6,3%), British (5,8%), Romanians (5,3%), Ukrainians (5%), Chinese (4,7%), Italians (4,3%), French (3,9%) and Angolans (3,8%).
The citizens who acquired Portuguese citizenship in 2019 came from Brazil (22,928), Israel (18,433), Cape Vert (6,472), Angola (2,993), Ukraine (2,738), Guinea-Bissau (2,538) and Turkey (1,629). The majority of these applications were due to naturalisation (68,9%), followed by marriage and life partnership (13,3%) and original attribution (11%).
This report also shows that in 2019, 183 citizens were granted refugee status (286 in 2018) and 113 resident permits for subsidiary protection (405 in 2018) were conceded.
Currently, Portugal is still considered by many as one of the best places in the world to invest and retire: in the first quarter of 2020, 259 main applicants and 515 dependents received their Golden Visa residence cards.
Discover how Portugal’s Golden Visa has changed, the investment routes still available in 2026, and the key legal considerations for international investors and families.
Learn how Portugal's IFICI tax regime benefits startup founders and key hires with a 20% flat tax, R&D incentives, and foreign income exemptions.
Find out when you need to exchange a foreign driving licence in Portugal, including rules for EU/EEA, OECD, CPLP and other countries.
Can asylum seekers be transferred to third countries? Explore the EU and ECHR legal limits, non-refoulement, safe third countries and judicial scrutiny.
How civil status, filiation, foreign marriages, divorces and deaths can affect Portuguese nationality applications in cross-border families.
Learn how Portuguese tax residence, Double Taxation Conventions and different income types can affect international individuals.
Working remotely does not automatically grant residence in Portugal. Understand the legal requirements and residence routes available to digital nomads.
Discover the legal options for recovering commercial debts in Portugal, including injunction procedures, enforcement actions and cross-border debt recovery.
Learn the legal routes to Portuguese nationality by descent for children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren under Portugal's updated Nationality Law.