The New Democratic Alliance party led by Luis Montenegro won the elections but it is still a minority. With Luis montenegro refused to form alliance with Chega, it is more likely to form minority or coalition government aligning with other parties.
The New government coming to power in June is expected to adopt reforms to immigration and nationality laws in Portugal. According to AIMA, there are 1.6 million foreigners living in Portugal as of 2024. there are at least 1 million individuals currently residing in Portugal with the expectation of acquiring Portuguese nationality after five years.
What’s Next?
- New Government: June
- Parliamentary Recess: 16 June to 14 September
- State Budget Priority: Presentation of the 2026 State Budget According to constitutional practice, the Government must submit the proposed State Budget for 2026 to the Assembly of the Republic by 15 October 2025. The State budget law will come into effect in Jan 1, 2026.
Also, the Incoming New government is expected to take tougher stance on immigration, eyes toughening nationality rules, making it harder to obtain citizenship in Portugal for immigrants without deeper connection to the country – eg. more physical presence, integration and portuguese language proficiency.
AD Party Proposals
The Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro announced current threshold could create a “pull factor, ” making Portugal a more attractive target for migration based on the ease of acquiring citizenship. Therefore considering extending the minimum legal residence period for acquiring nationality (currently five years).
- Faster application processing – Digitisation and simplification of procedures to improve operational efficiency, reduce waiting times, and ease the burden on AIMA’s inperson services.
- Strong Ties to Country – Extend the minimum period of legal residence and actual presence.
- Illegal time – Eliminate the possibility of counting time spent illegally in the country toward nationality eligibility
- National Connection – Strengthen the substantive connection between applicants and Portugal, in line with the recent decision by the European Court on Malta.
In April 2024, Montenegro criticised the closing down of Real estate route, stated that such a decision was one he “would never have made as Prime Minister.” A housing crisis has also fired up debate. House prices and rents have been soaring for the past 10 years, due in part to an influx of white-collar foreigners who have driven up prices.
Other Proposals
Several proposals were floated by other parties (IL, Chega) related to immigration and nationality as a part of their election manifesto..
- Creation of a single, functional, multilingual online portal with defined deadlines, automatic notifications, and real-time tracking of application status.
- Simplify and stabilise the legal criteria for acquiring nationality, promoting clarity, predictability, and fairness in access to Portuguese citizenship. national citizenship rules are not used as shortcuts to bypass common EU standards for residence or mobility.
- Strengthen the requirements for effective integration, including language proficiency, basic knowledge of democratic institutions, and the absence of serious criminal records.
- Set limited annual quotas for the granting of residence permits.
- Streamline legalisation procedures, including residence permits and family reunification for immigrants and refugees. Reduce waiting times for family reunification requests, allowing applications to be submitted at any time.
- Removal of counting waiting time towards nationality. The Government already prior legal amendment that would allow counting residence time from the date of application for authorization — which could reduce the actual wait period for nationality, due to long wait times to issuance and renewal of residence permits (sometimes two years).
- Nationality acquisition processes are completed as efficiently and swiftly as possible.
- Attraction of national and foreign investment in low-density areas, to promote economic development
New Law
The Legislative process for amended immigration and nationality law, if drafted, can take anywhere from 1-2 years subject to parliamentary and presidential approval.
- Initiative (Government, political parties, Members of Parliament, or citizens); General debate and first reading vote (in plenary);
- Committee stage for detailed discussion (typically in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs);
- Final global vote (plenary);
- Presidential promulgation;
- Publication in the Diário da República (Official Gazette).
President of the Republic may exercise a political veto or request prior review by the Constitutional Court if there are doubts about the constitutionality of the proposed amendments which could lead to more delays
Nationality Applications
Applications for the acquisition of Portuguese nationality are governed by the version of the Nationality Law in force at the date the application is submitted, in accordance with the legal governance.
It is advisable that individuals who have already completed five years since the payment of the residence application processing fee move along, submitting their nationality application without delay.
Credit: Prime Legal
