Hungary
Hungarian guest investor programme
Hungary's guest investor programme grants a 10-year residence permit for investments starting at EUR 250,000, renewable for another 10 years.
News · Portugal
Portugal raises the residence requirement for naturalisation to ten years
Portugal has amended its nationality law. Nationals of countries that are neither in the EU nor Portuguese-speaking now need ten years of legal residence for naturalisation, instead of the previous five.
Summary
In brief
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Organic Law no. 1/2026 (Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026) was published in Portugal's official gazette on 18 May 2026 and entered into force the next day, 19 May.
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Naturalisation requires seven years of legal residence for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU citizens, and ten years for all other nationals.
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The previous requirement was five years.
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Procedures pending when the law entered into force remain under the previous rules.
Background
What happened
The Portuguese Parliament approved the amendment to the nationality law on 1 April 2026. The President signed (promulgated) the law on 3 May. It was published in the Diário da República official gazette on 18 May and entered into force on the day after publication.
Under the amendment, naturalisation is open to people who have lived legally in Portugal for at least seven years – if they are nationals of a Portuguese-speaking country or EU citizens – or at least ten years for all other nationalities. A transitional provision states that procedures pending on the date of entry into force follow the previous wording.
For you
What it means for you
- Time to a passport is part of the calculation: if you choose a residence programme partly for future EU citizenship, the time to naturalisation matters as much as the entry conditions.
- Rules can change along the way: the Portuguese case shows that this period can change while you are already resident. The law protected pending applications.
- Look at the whole path: when choosing a programme, we compare residence, permanent residence and citizenship steps together.
Programmes
Related programmes
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- Malta
Malta Startup Residence Programme
The Malta Startup Residence Programme is for people who found an innovative company in Malta or move one there, investing at least EUR 25,000.