When Parliament approved the reform of Portugal’s Nationality Law, it also voted on a separate but related change to the Penal Code. The two measures were debated together but approved as different legal diplomas because they operate in different legal domains.
1. What the Penal Code amendment does
The amendment introduces a new accessory penalty that allows a court to revoke Portuguese nationality from someone who acquired it and was later convicted of a very serious crime. The revocation can occur only if:
- The crime carries a prison sentence of four years or more.
- The conviction happens within ten years after nationality was granted.
- The person holds another nationality, so that revocation does not create statelessness.
The measure targets crimes such as terrorism, crimes against the state, homicide, rape, and other violent offenses. It does not apply to citizens who were Portuguese by birth.
2. Why it is part of the Penal Code and not the Nationality Law
Portugal’s legal framework separates civil administrative law from criminal law. The Nationality Law (Law No. 37/81) governs who can obtain or lose nationality through administrative processes. The Penal Code (Decree-Law No. 400/82) governs criminal responsibility and penalties.
If Parliament had added this punishment directly into the Nationality Law, it would have blurred that distinction and risked constitutional problems. To remain legally coherent, the revocation clause was inserted into the Penal Code, where it becomes a court-imposed sanction rather than an administrative decision.
In short, the Nationality Law defines who can become Portuguese, while the Penal Code defines when a court may take nationality away as part of a criminal judgment.
3. Why it was voted as a separate diploma
Parliamentary procedure requires that each legislative act deal with a single subject. Because the Nationality Law reform addresses citizenship conditions and the Penal Code amendment introduces a new criminal penalty, they had to be proposed and voted separately. Both were approved on October 28 by the same majority of PSD, CDS, IL, and Chega.
4. Possible constitutional concerns
The idea of revoking nationality as a criminal sanction is controversial. Legal experts have warned that it may conflict with constitutional protections of nationality as a fundamental right and with Portugal’s obligations under international law. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who is a constitutional scholar, could choose to send this amendment to the Constitutional Court before signing it.