The Aliança Democrática (AD) party, which is campaigning for the elections of 18 May 2025, proposes in its program a revision of the rules for obtaining Portuguese citizenship for foreigners, including investors under the Golden Visa program. Only in 2024, the government of António Costa enshrined in the Law the right of investors who applied for a residence permit in Portugal (Golden Visa) to count the 5-year period before applying for citizenship from the moment the application is registered in the system. This means that the residence permit is still being processed, and the investor is already gaining months until Portuguese citizenship. More than two years may pass from the moment of filing an application for a residence permit until the application is considered.
The official electoral program of the AD (Aliança Democrática) party speaks of the need to tighten the criteria for naturalization. Among the key proposals:
- Increasing the minimum period of residence in the country;
- Requirement of real, not formal presence in Portugal;
- Exclusion of the possibility of counting illegal stay;
- General revision of approaches to issuing citizenship with “ clear and fair criteria”.
Under current rules, investors only need to be in the country for 14 days a year for five years to apply for Portuguese citizenship. But the AD party is proposing to change this approach and tighten controls. For now, this is only a party program, and implementing the proposals will require not only the party’s victory in the elections, but also the support of parliament and a change in the law.
