After 5 years of having Portugal "legal residency" (and not necessarily of actually residing in the country), one may apply for Portugal permanent residency or citizenship, subject to proving basic knowledge of the Portuguese language.

Portugal Permanent Residency

Eligibility and application
The application for a permanent residence permit must be submitted to SEF, Portugal's border agency, and under the Foreigners' Law, permanent residency shall be granted to someone who cumulatively:
  • Has held a temporary residence permit (which is the case of a Golden Visa) for at least 5 years
  • During the last 5 years has not been been convicted of a crime punishable by a prison sentence of more than 1 year
  • Has sufficient subsistence means
  • Has a place of abode in Portugal
  • Has proof of having knowledge of "basic Portuguese" (see this page)

Time frame
The permanent residence permit is granted for life. Notwithstanding, the card has to be renewed every 5 years or whenever there is a change of particulars, namely the holder's address in Portugal or his/her marital status. 

Stay requirements
A permanent residence permit is not subject to minimum stay requirements. But, except in the case of the Golden Visa Permanent Residency, a permanent residence permit may be cancelled if the holder, without an acceptable justification, is away from Portugal for a period of 24 consecutive months, or for a period of non-consecutive 30 months over 3 years. However, it is explicitly deemed acceptable to be away for any period of time in one's country of origin in order to carry out a professional, entrepreneurial, cultural or social activity. In practice, SEF will only demand to see proof of the holder having actually lived in the country or of a justification of absence from the country in the event the renewal of the card is requested after its expiry date. As such, provided the renewal of the permanent resident's id card is applied for before the expiry date, Portugal's minimum stay requirements should not be a major concern.

Portuguese Citizenship

Application
Unlike residency, the application for citizenship is to be submitted to a civil registry office and not to SEF. However, once citizenship is acquired, passport applications are handled by SEF, although the application may be submitted at a Citizen's Shop or at a Portuguese Consulate.

Original citizenship
Original Portuguese citizenship is granted to: 
  • Either someone who has one Portuguese parent or one Portuguese grandparent who has not lost his/her Portuguese nationality;
  • Or someone who is born in Portugal and: (a) has one parent who, having also been born in Portugal, lived in Portugal at the time of the birth; or (b) has one parent who was a legal resident of Portugal (other than one in the employment of his/her country of origin) for at least 2 years at the time of the birth; or (c) does not have another citizenship.

Acquired citizenship by an act of will
Portuguese citizenship may be acquired by:
  • The underagde or incapacitaed child of someone who acquired Portuguese citizenship;
  • The spouse or life partner of a Portuguese citizen after 3 years. 

​Naturalisation
Portuguese citizenship by naturalisation may be applied for by, among others, someone who:
  • Has been a legal resident of Portugal for at least 5 years;
  • Is under-aged, was born in Portugal and either concluded at least 1 cycle of schooling in Portugal, or has one parent who, at
    the time of the application, has legally resided in Portugal for at least 5 years;
  • Was born in Portugal to foreign parents and has habitually lived in Portugal during the 5 years prior to the citizenship application;
  • Is a Sephardic Jew that descends from the Portuguese Sephardic Jews.

Click the following link to view or download a table containing the various citizenship criteria and the respective specific requirements:
180705_portuguese_citizenship_1.pdf
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Portuguese Language

​​Proving basic knowledge of the Portuguese language is required from someone who applies for permanent residency, or for citizenship by having:
  • A Portuguese grandparent; or
  • ​Held legal residency in Portugal for 5 years; or
  • Been born in Portugal to foreign parents and being underaged.

​Click here for information about the required test and the learning of the language.

Ties to Portugal

The following applicants for citizenship must submit documentary evidence of the existence of effective ties to Portugal and/or the Portuguese community, and the State Attorney may oppose the granting of citizenship if such ties are either too few or too weak:
  • Someone who is born abroad and has a Portuguese grandparent who did not lose his/her Portuguese nationality;
  • Someone who has, for at least 3 years, been married to a Portuguese citizen or been ​a life partner of a Portuguese citizen.
​​
Examples of acceptable ties include:
  • Registration with Portugal's Tax Authority and National Health Service
  • Regular trips to Portugal in case the applicant does not live in the country
  • Having owned or rented property in Portugal for at least 3 years
  • Living in a historic Portuguese community abroad or having ties thereto
  • Having participated during the previous 5 years in the cultural life of a Portuguese community existing in the country of residence of the applicant, namely in the activities of the cultural or recreational associations of such community