Portugal is once again at a legislative crossroads. Following recent attempts to reform immigration and nationality laws, strong concerns have emerged about the government’s push to apply new rules retroactively.
Traditionally, Portuguese constitutional law follows a simple principle: laws take effect from their entry into force onwards. They are not supposed to strip away rights that people already acquired under previous legislation. Yet, current proposals surrounding the nationality law threaten to do just that — raising alarms among constitutional experts, immigrant communities, and civil society.
The Core Issue: Retroactivity
One of the most controversial aspects of the proposed amendments is the intention to apply changes retroactively, starting from June 19. This would mean that individuals who had already become eligible for nationality under the previous law could suddenly find themselves excluded.
Constitutional scholar Paulo Tero has highlighted that such retroactivity undermines trust in the law and violates the principle of legal certainty. In simple terms, citizens and residents must be able to rely on the rules in force at the time they acted. To rewrite the rules afterwards is not only unfair — it is constitutionally questionable.
The Israeli Community of Lisbon (SIL) has strongly criticized the government’s approach, particularly regarding the end of the regime granting nationality to descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled in the 15th century. SIL called the move an “act of ingratitude”, warning of its negative impact on Portugal’s image as a defender of human rights and historical justice.
Portugal’s Constitution enshrines legal certainty as a fundamental principle. While parliament has the authority to create stricter requirements — such as longer residence periods or more detailed evidence — it cannot legitimately erase rights that people had already earned.
If parliament insists on retroactive measures, the matter will almost certainly be challenged before the Constitutional Court. And with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa himself a constitutionalist, it is unlikely such provisions would pass unexamined.
Reform is not the problem. Setting clearer deadlines, requiring stronger evidence, or even phasing out certain nationality routes over a defined period can be legitimate. What is unconstitutional — and profoundly damaging to public trust — is to suddenly declare that rights already acquired are no longer valid.
The nationality law, like the immigration law before it, is too important to be handled with ambiguity or haste. Portugal must ensure transparency, fairness, and above all, respect for its own Constitution.
by Nazir Ahmed
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