The procedure is mandatory after the Constitutional Court's rejection. The government downplayed the judges' refusal, arguing that the "essential points" of the legislation remain.
Lisbon Dec 19, 2025 — President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa returned the draft Nationality Law to Parliament this Friday, December 19th. This procedure is mandatory when legislation is rejected by the Constitutional Court.
“if the Constitutional Court rules that a provision in any decree or international agreement is unconstitutional, the instrument must be vetoed by the President of the Republic or the Representative of the Republic, as appropriate, and returned to the body that approved it,” states the note published on the presidency's website. This same passage was sent in a letter by Marcelo to the President of the Assembly of the Republic.
Now, the Government will adjust the points of the law rejected by the Constitutional Court for a new vote . The process will take place after the end-of-year holiday recess. The executive branch hopes that the path will be similar to that of the Foreigners Law, which was also rejected by the judges of the Ratton Palace. The law was returned and, in a few weeks, was approved and promulgated by Marcelo.
What remains unclear in this case is whether the new law will receive votes from the Socialist Party (PS) , which submitted the request for review to the Constitutional Court , or from Chega, which was instrumental in the first version of the approved text.
The Government is not concerned about the rejection, considering that "the essential points" were maintained. "It is, therefore, with tranquility that we observe this decision. We consider that the Constitutional Court has enabled essential and structural issues, such as the counting of deadlines and the differentiation between European and CPLP citizens in relation to citizens of third countries ," he stressed. It is precisely these "essential and structural issues" that aim to reduce the number of foreigners entitled to nationality.
Among the points considered essential by the Government are increasing the required residency period with a residence permit for application and removing from the law the article that allows waiting time for a residence permit to be counted . These two points, which are still in force in the legislation, result in an increase in the number of applications, which currently exceed 700,000 .
In statements made during the Mission Structure review this week, António Leitão Amaro, Minister of the Presidency, spoke about these "essential points." One of the main changes to the law, analyzed and not rejected by the Constitutional Court, was to not count the waiting time for the card towards the housing period required for the application.
"These are illegal," said the minister. However, the law does provide for the accounting of the waiting time for the document after the authorization of the expression of interest. What has happened in recent years is that this period can take up to three years, during which time the immigrant is working, paying taxes, and living in the country.