An amendment (2015) to the Portuguese ‘Law on Nationality’ allows Sephardi Jews descendants of inquisition-era deportees from Iberian Peninsula to obtain the Portuguese passport/citizenship.
However, on May the Socialist Party presented an amendment to change the original law, and proposed that only the Jewish descendants who have lived in Portugal for two years would get the citizenship permit. According to the Socialist Party, those changes would begin in 2022. This measure would surely restrict the number of people who could apply for the programme; nowadays there are no requirements to get the citizenship.
But last week, the Socialist Party withdrew the proposed after receiving many pressures from the Jewish community in Portugal, alongside with Jewish organizations all around the world. Some critics also said that the amendment anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist.
Orience by your side
If you want to get the Portuguese citizenship or you are interested in other citizenship or residence programmes, do not hesitate to ask. You can apply for any programme without leaving your country. Contact us.
Source: Times Jerusalem / The Jerusalem Post