Lisbon, May 13, 2026 — Although Portugal’s revised Nationality Law has already been promulgated by President António José Seguro, constitutional scrutiny of the reform may not yet be over.
Under Portugal’s constitutional framework, the government must now prepare a regulatory decree-law within 90 days to define how the new nationality regime will be implemented in practice. Legal analysts note that this regulation will return to the President for promulgation, reopening the possibility of presidential intervention if constitutional concerns remain unresolved.
The President has already signaled unease over the treatment of pending applications and the risk of retroactive effects. In his promulgation note, he stressed that ongoing nationality proceedings should not be harmed by the legislative change and warned against situations that could create “a breach of trust in the State.”
Constitutional experts point out that the President retains the authority to request preventive constitutional review of decree-laws submitted for promulgation. Under the Portuguese Constitution, the Head of State may refer norms contained in decree-laws to the Constitutional Court of Portugal before signing them into force.
The issue carries particular weight because earlier versions of the nationality reform were already partially struck down by the Constitutional Court in 2025, forcing Parliament to rewrite several provisions before the current version was approved.
While the President signed the core law on May 3, the operational details — including how pending applications and residence timelines will be handled — are expected to be defined in the upcoming regulations. Lawyers and migrant advocacy groups increasingly view that phase as the decisive battleground for the practical impact of the reform.