Applications for Portuguese Nationality Soar as New Law Enters Into Force on September
The change in the law caused a surge in requests, which further led to a strike and long waiting lines at the registry and other offices. Considering the situation, the Portuguese government has extended the services until Wednesday, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
More specifically, in an effort to right the wrongs suffered by the Sephardic Jews in 1492, the latter will be able to acquire Portuguese citizenship, with the criteria being the demonstration of links to this category.
In addition, the criteria required to prove a Sephardic connection include the use of the Landino language within a family, a family name that is related to Sephardic ancestry as well as a range of documentation issued from official records such as cemetery records, as well as birth, death and marriage certificates.
The possibility of obtaining Portuguese citizenship by the Sephardic Jews was not limited by the nationality of the applicant.
However, in March of 2022, the Sephardic Genealogical Society voiced the issue of abuse of the Portuguese laws relating to the Sephardic rights to citizenship in the country.
The Society felt that the lack of seriousness regarding the criteria for an application put the Jewish community at a disadvantage, believing that it reflects negatively on those with Sephardic roots, and the Portuguese citizens acted quickly on the matter.
“The major changes in the law relating to Sephardic right of Portuguese citizenship is the requirement of a certificate or other probative document relating to the ownership, transmitted mortis causa, of real rights over real estate in Portugal, of other personal rights or of shareholdings, in commercial or cooperative companies based in Portugal,” Rute Lourenço, an associate in the Porto office, said.
According to Israeli media, at least 90,000 descendants of Sephardic Jews have acquired Portuguese or Spanish citizenship since 2015, with Spain receiving about 153,000 applications while Portugal received 86,000.
Spain has granted citizenship to 36,000 applicants, or 23 per cent of the total applicants, while Portugal granted citizenship to 63 per cent of applicants or about 54,000 people. Thousands of applications are yet to be reviewed in both countries.
