Lisbon, Jan 9, 2026 — Portugal’s Parliament will hold a debate on 27 January to examine whether the time immigrants spend waiting for a residence permit should be counted toward the minimum legal residence period required to apply for Portuguese nationality.
The discussion will take place at the Assembleia da República, following a public petition led by immigration lawyer Priscila Corrêa, which has gathered more than 8,000 signatures.
The petition argues that prolonged delays in issuing residence permits — often caused by administrative backlogs — unfairly penalise immigrants who are otherwise legally resident in Portugal.
According to the petition, some applicants have waited up to four years for a residence authorisation decision. These delays are largely attributed to processing constraints at AIMA, which inherited a large number of unresolved cases following reforms to Portugal’s immigration system.
Supporters of the proposal argue that waiting time should be recognised for nationality purposes, as applicants have already demonstrated a genuine and continuous connection to Portugal during that period.
Current Citizenship Rules and Proposed Changes
Under current law, foreign residents must complete five years of legal residence in Portugal before applying for citizenship by naturalisation.
However, the government has proposed increasing this requirement to:
- Seven years for citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries (CPLP), and
- Ten years for other foreign nationals.
These proposed changes are part of amendments to Portugal’s Nationality Law that were blocked by the Constitutional Court and are expected to return to Parliament for further debate.
The petition seeks the introduction of transitional rules to protect immigrants who already meet all legal requirements but have been unable to apply for nationality due to administrative delays.
Lawyer Says 2024 Reform Was Never Fully Implemented
According to Priscila Corrêa, Article 15 of the Nationality Law, updated in 2024, was never fully enforced. While Parliament had accepted the principle of counting waiting time for residence permits, the government ultimately did not regulate or operationalise the measure.
She argues that immigrants’ rights have been undermined by failures to uphold principles of efficiency, timeliness, and good public administration, leaving applicants without proper submission systems, tracking tools, or transparent timelines.
Hundreds of Thousands of Cases Affected
Government figures indicate the scale of the problem. According to the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, there were approximately 900,000 pending residence permit applications at AIMA when regularisation efforts began in September 2024.
At the same time, delays in nationality processing are also significant. The Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado estimates that more than 522,000 citizenship applications are currently backlogged, while union representatives place the number even higher.
Legal experts warn that if residence waiting time is not counted, many applicants may see their nationality eligibility period effectively reset, despite years spent living, working, and contributing in Portugal.
The parliamentary hearing will take place within the Committee on Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, where petition representatives are expected to present their case. While no immediate legislative change is guaranteed, the debate is likely to influence ongoing discussions around nationality reform.
For many immigrants in Portugal, the outcome could determine whether years spent waiting in legal limbo are finally recognised as part of their path toward citizenship.