Portugal Citizenship For Citizens Of Saudi Arabia

Portuguese Citizenship Request Letter

You must write a citizenship request letter to the Minister of Justice to apply for Portuguese citizenship. The Ministry of Justice in Portugal is responsible for conferring citizenship to applicants.

When writing your request letter, you must capture the following details:

• Your country.
• Your name in full.
• Your profession.
• Your residential address.
• Your marital status.
• Your birth date.
• Your lawyer’s name and address.
• Your parents’ names.

Your letter of request must be written in Portuguese. You must also get a staff from any Portuguese registry to sign it.

If you will mail the application, you must notarise your letter.

Birth Certificate

It is compulsory to submit your birth certificate. If your birth certificate was issued in Arabic, you must translate it to either Portuguese or English. After translation, you must also legalise the translation.

Evidence of Ties to Portugal

As a foreign national looking to get Portuguese citizenship, you are expected to show that you are well-adapted to life in Portugal. Here are the ways to prove that you have ties to Portugal:

• Presenting your language proficiency test scores in Portuguese. You must show proficiency in Portuguese up to the A2 level by taking the CIPLE test.
• Presenting an admission or acceptance letter into a school in Portugal.
• Presenting an address of your home in Portugal.
• Presenting a document that proves you have a property in Portugal.

Evidence You Have Paid the Citizenship Processing Fee

Your application must contain a receipt which shows you have paid the relevant fees for your application for Portuguese citizenship.

By Marriage

One of the ways to naturalise and become a Portuguese citizen is via marriage. It is one of the fastest naturalisation routes. You only need to be married to your Portuguese partner for 3 years before applying.

If you are in a de facto union with a Portuguese national, you can also apply for citizenship, according to the nationality laws.

To prove that you are eligible for this route, you must show that you have been married to the Portuguese for at least 3 years. Proving this is relatively easy as it requires you to show your marriage certificate. Note that the marriage certificate must be issued by the government.

Proving a relationship is a bit harder for people who are not married but in a de facto union. You will show you live in the same house as the Portuguese national. This can be verified by submitting a joint account with your name and address.  You can also present a rental contract between you and the property owner.

Portuguese citizenship can be granted via this route only if you and your partner live together. The years stop dont matter after you have separated or broken up with your Portuguese partner.

Couples not currently in Portugal can also apply, but you have to show you have connections to Portugal. These connections could be a property you acquired in Portugal, an offer letter indicating you have been accepted to study in a Portuguese university or that you are proficient in speaking, writing and reading in Portuguese.

By Descent

This is also known as citizenship by origin or by birth. Sometimes, being born to Portuguese parents or in Portugal does not automatically confer citizenship on you. You will need to meet any of the requirements below further:

• You have at least 1 parent who is also a Portuguese citizen at the time you were born.
• You have at least 1 grandparent who hasn’t lost their citizenship. If this applies to you, you must have lived for 3 years in Portugal. Again, you must be proficient in Portuguese.
• You are up to 18, born in Portugal to foreign citizens who have been living in Portugal for a year before you were born.
• You have at least 1 parent who became a citizen after you were born. You must have spent at least 5 years in the country.

If you intend to claim citizenship by descent through your Portuguese grandparents, you must show you have ties to Portugal. This is typically proven by showing you are proficient in Portuguese.

By Adoption

Your adopted child who is below 18 years of age can apply for Portuguese citizenship. You need to present the official papers that made you their legal parent to get approval via this route.

When you want to acquire citizenship for your adopted child, you must show proof of their ties to Portugal. This can be evidence they are enrolled for studies in a school in Portugal. Alternatively, they should know how to speak Portuguese.

By Naturalisation

If you have lived or worked in Portugal for at least 5 years, you can apply for citizenship.

By Investment

Since 2012, Portugal has granted citizenship to foreign nationals who invest in the country for at least 5 years. The investment program is known as the Golden Visa.

If you get a golden visa, you and your family can study, live and work in Portugal. But you must maintain your investment for that 5 years.

Getting the golden visa will cost between €200,000 to €500,000. You have to invest this sum in different sectors in Portugal.

Investors have been applying and getting into the program due to its tax-free benefit and less stringent residence rules.

After looking after your investment for 5 years, you can apply for citizenship.

Here are some of the investments that you can make in Portugal if you want to apply for citizenship via this route:

• Invest in scientific or tech research ongoing in Portugal.
• Invest €400,000 in an existing business, creating at least 8 permanent jobs.
• Invest €500,000 in Portugal by opening a company that will create a minimum of 10 permanent jobs.
• Invest €200,000 to €400,000 to maintain, repair or protect a national heritage or piece of art.

Former Portuguese Colony 

Citizens and residents of former Portuguese colonies overseas can apply to acquire Portuguese citizenship. Some countries that were once Portuguese colonies are Cape Verde, Timor, Sao Tome, Macao, Guinea Bissau and Portuguese India.

Citizens of these countries are to show that they are well-versed in the traditions and culture of the Portuguese people. One way to show this is proficiency in speaking and understanding Portuguese.

If you are currently living in any of these countries but are not a citizen, you can be eligible for citizenship by:

• Being at least 18 and emancipated by Portuguese laws.
• Being the progeny of parents or grandparents who are Portuguese citizens.
• Being the partner or spouse of a citizen of these former colonies.

By Service

If you have evidence of your service to the Portuguese government or community, you can submit it to the Ministry of Justice so they can decide if they will reward you with citizenship.

By Jewish Sephardic Ancestry

If you are from the lineage of the Sephardic Jews, you may apply for citizenship. The Portuguese government is currently offering citizenship to people from that ancestry. This is because of the unfair treatment the Sephardic Jewish people faced during the inquisition period of the 15th century in the Iberian area.

You can claim Sephardic Jewish ancestry if you prove that:

• • You have shares and stocks in a business in Portugal.
  • You have a property in Portugal.
  • You have family members that use Sephardic surnames.
  • You have family members who speak Ladino.

You visit Portugal frequently.

• You have a certificate of residence from the Lisbon Jewish community.

Regaining Lost Citizenship

Before 1981, Portugal did not allow their citizens to hold dual citizenship. This meant that anyone who got citizenship elsewhere would have their Portuguese citizenship revoked. But the rules have been reversed. You can reapply for citizenship if this Law affected you.

Lost Citizenship Due to Change in Civil Status

Portuguese women who got married to foreign nationals and picked up citizenship in their spouse’s home country automatically lost their Portuguese citizenship. This was the rule up until 1981. You can apply to regain citizenship if you are affected.

Lost Citizenship Without Nationality

You can apply to regain citizenship if you renounced or lost Portuguese citizenship and still haven’t obtained another nationality.

Lost Citizenship Due to the Choice of Your Legal Representative

If a legal guardian or parent changed nationalities for you while you were under their care, you can regain Portuguese citizenship if you are 18 years or older.