My query pertains to recent changes in nationality law. Regarding the five-year period for acquiring citizenship/passport, does it commence from the date of manifestation submission upon entering Portugal or upon receiving approval from AIMA for the Manifestation of Interest? Assuming it starts from the submission, if an individual submits their first manifestation in January 2020, cancels it, and subsequently resubmits the Manifestation under another article in March 2020, does the five-year countdown begin from January 2020 or March 2020?
Although the Portuguese citizenship law was amended to foresee the starting point of the 5-year period to apply for citizenship by residence permit holders, the regulation of the law was not yet amended accordingly, so that amendment is not yet in force.
The amendment to the law allows for the consideration of "the time elapsed since the moment the temporary residence permit was requested, provided that it is subsequently approved." However, the law has not yet been promulgated, meaning it has not been officially enacted and has not come into effect. It's crucial to bear in mind the uncertainty surrounding its implementation. If the law is eventually passed, the time begins when you submit the expression of interest. In your situation, it would start in March 2020 since the previous request was canceled and couldn't be approved.
On January 7, 2024, the Parliament approved some changes to the nationality law, which was mainly for Sephardi Jews. However, there was also a proposal approved for the five years for the citizenship application to start counting from the deposit of the residency permit application and not its approval, which could benefit your application. The procedure still needs to be published by the President of the Republic, and currently, it is under analysis by the Constitutional Court. Afterwards, the law still needs the regulation to be done by the government. Thus, it will take a couple of months to be applicable.
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