UK NATIONALS' EU RIGHTS AFTER BREXIT - Our view
6 November 2018
Until Brexit becomes fully effective - which will depend on a lot of yet unknown factors and, if not reversed, most probably subject to a relatively long "transition period" - an UK citizen keeps full rights as an EU citizen. Then, even if he ends up losing such rights, if at the time he is a resident of Portugal, he will in all probability keep full rights of residence in Portugal as though he were an EU citizen, and have, so to speak, a "quasi-EU" status, which has already been more or less guaranteed by the EU and the UK.
We cannot, of course, guess the future, but we feel confident that UK citizens who move to Portugal before March 31st 2019 - along with the many thousands of other Portugal-resident Brits - won't face any adverse consequences. It is therefore highly unlikely that, for example, he will be subject to any minimum stay requirements.
When applying for a temporary stay or residence visa in Portugal, one of the key requirements is the submission of a recent criminal record certificate.
Under Portuguese Nationality Law (Law no. 37/81, as amended), grandchildren of Portuguese citizens may be eligible to apply for Portuguese citizenship.
Parents of under-18s with Portuguese nationality or residence can apply for residency under Art. 122 if they prove parental responsibility.
On 23 June 2025, at the Council of Ministers meeting, the Portuguese Government announced sweeping reforms to nationality law, immigration policy.
Hiring in Portugal imposes numerous obligations on employers, many of which are not always intuitive to those unfamiliar with the national legal framework.
To summarise, if you are a Portuguese citizen who got married abroad, you are legally required to register your marriage.
The deadline to submit the Portuguese Personal Income Tax return (IRS) for income earned in 2024 is 30 June 2025.
Company dissolution in Portugal starts liquidation, a legal process. The business stops but exists until formally closed. Shareholders decide the legal path.
Portugal protects tenants, but landlords have legal ways to reclaim property and unpaid rent, with eviction and debt recovery procedures, lease or not.
Portuguese nationality is a right that can be acquired through various means: birth, marriage, parentage, length of residence, or Sephardic Jewish ancestry.