Portuguese Nationality Law: Jus Sanguinis & Future Outlook

The Portuguese Nationality Law completed 44 years in October 2025. Since its enactment in 1981, it has undergone several changes that expanded — and in some cases restricted — the right to the recognition of Portuguese citizenship. In this complete guide, you will understand the entire historical evolution, from the Seabra Code of 1867 to the most recent changes.

1. Before 1981: The Historical Foundations of Portuguese Nationality

The Seabra Code (1867)

The Civil Code of 1867, known as the Código de Seabra (Seabra Code), was the first major regulatory milestone regarding nationality in Portugal. Influenced by 19th-century European legal tradition, it established rules that reflected the Portuguese imperial structure:

• Restricted and paternalistic jus sanguinis: Blood rights were recognized primarily through the paternal line. Children of a Portuguese father were automatically Portuguese, while transmission through the mother faced severe restrictions.
• Conditional jus soli: Birth in Portuguese territory granted citizenship, but with exceptions for children of foreigners in the service of their countries.
• Gender discrimination: Portuguese women lost their nationality upon marrying a foreigner — a rule that persisted for over a century.

📜 Article 22 of the 1867 Code

"The quality of Portuguese citizen is lost: (...) 4th By a Portuguese woman who marries a foreigner, unless she is not, by that fact, naturalized by the law of her husband's country."

Law No. 2098/1959

This law was in force until 1981 and reflected the mentality of the Estado Novo and the Portuguese colonial empire. Main characteristics:

• Loss by naturalization: Portuguese citizens who voluntarily acquired another nationality lost their Portuguese one — excluding millions of emigrants.
• Marriage: Maintained discrimination: Portuguese women lost their citizenship when marrying foreigners.
• Jus sanguinis dependent on formal acts: Children of Portuguese citizens born abroad needed a declaration, registration, and residence in Portugal.

2. The 1981 Turn: Democracy, Equality, and Modernization

Law No. 37/81, of October 3rd, was born in the context of the Portuguese democratic transition, following the Carnation Revolution (1974) and the 1976 Constitution. It was a truly revolutionary law for its time.

Main Innovations

✓ End of Gender Discrimination

Article 15 determined that marriage does not affect the nationality of either spouse. Portuguese women no longer lost their citizenship upon marrying a foreigner.

✓ Equality in Transmission

Men and women began to transmit nationality under equal conditions. Article 1, No. 1 recognized as Portuguese the children of a Portuguese father OR mother.

✓ Strengthening of Jus Sanguinis

For the first time, the third generation (grandchildren) gained an explicit, albeit limited, legal path to the recognition of nationality.

✓ Post-Colonial Regularization

It brought solutions for millions of people from former colonies who were left in a state of uncertainty after the 1975 decolonization.

The 1981 law aligned Portugal with the values of constitutional democracy: equality, dignity, family identity, and protection of the diaspora.

3. Timeline of Main Amendments (2006-2025)

2006 — The "Grandchildren's Law"

Law No. 2/2006

Opened an explicit door for the third generation for the first time. Grandchildren of Portuguese citizens born abroad could apply for nationality through naturalization (derived nationality).

Limitation: Because it was naturalization and not attribution, naturalized grandchildren did not automatically transmit nationality to their children.

2015 — Sephardic Jews and Original Grandchildren

Organic Law No. 9/2015

Two historical changes:

• Descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled in the 15th century gained the right to nationality — even after 15 to 20 generations.
• Grandchildren began to have original nationality (attribution), no longer derived. This means they can transmit it to their descendants.

2017/2018 — Regulation and "Effective Ties"

Decree-Law No. 71/2017

The regulation introduced the requirement to prove "effective ties with the national community" for grandchildren:

• Legal residence in Portugal
• Regular trips to the country
• Knowledge of the Portuguese language
• Property ownership

2020 — Easing of Jus Soli

Organic Law No. 2/2020

Children of foreigners born in Portugal became Portuguese if the parents had only one year of legal residence. The requirement of ties for grandchildren was softened.

2024 — Restrictions for Sephardic Descendants

Tenth amendment to Law 37/81

Descendants of Sephardic Jews now need to prove an objective connection to Portugal (real estate, participation in Portuguese Jewish communities), as genealogical certificates alone are no longer sufficient.

2025 — Tightening Under Debate

Amendments under discussion

Proposals that restrict the regularization of foreigners with illegal entry and link naturalizations more strictly to continuous legal residence. Reflects a more cautious European political climate regarding migration flows.

4. Jus Sanguinis in Portugal: How It Works Today

Jus sanguinis (right of blood) is the principle by which nationality is transmitted through parentage, regardless of the place of birth. In Portugal, it works as follows:

💡 Important Tip for Great-grandchildren

If you are the great-grandchild of a Portuguese citizen, the path is for your parents (grandchildren) to first obtain Portuguese nationality. After their recognition, you become the child of a Portuguese citizen and can apply for your citizenship.

5. Portugal vs. Italy: Comparison of Blood Rights

One of the main criticisms of the Portuguese law is the generational limitation of jus sanguinis. Compare it with Italy:

🇮🇹 Italy

• ✓ Unrestricted jus sanguinis
• ✓ No generation limit
• ✓ If the great-grandfather was Italian, the great-great-great-grandchild is too
• ✓ Simply prove the genealogical line

🇵🇹 Portugal

• ⚠️ Limited jus sanguinis
• ⚠️ Stops at the third generation (grandchildren)
• ⚠️ Requires proof of effective ties
• ⚠️ Great-grandchildren depend on parents' recognition

The Sephardic Paradox

Portugal accepts descendants of Sephardic Jews even after 15 to 20 generations (expelled in the 15th century). However, it denies the same right to direct descendants of Portuguese citizens who emigrated in the 19th or 20th century.

This contradiction is one of the main arguments of the movement for unrestricted blood rights.

6. The Future of the Law: Movement for Unrestricted Blood Rights

There is a growing movement in defense of unrestricted jus sanguinis in Portugal, similar to the Italian model. The central proposal is:

• Recognize blood rights without generation limits
• Establish that if the ancestor was Portuguese, all their descendants remain Portuguese
• Eliminate the subjective requirement of "effective ties"
• Base recognition exclusively on genealogical proof

Arguments in Favor

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Conclusion

Celebrating 44 years of the Portuguese Nationality Law is recognizing how much the country has advanced:

• From colonial rigidity to democracy
• From gender discrimination to full equality
• From the exclusion of the diaspora to its progressive recognition

But it is also facing the contradictions that persist. The political limit to jus sanguinis — stopping at grandchildren — is a restriction that millions of descendants consider unfair, especially when compared to the treatment given to Sephardic descendants or the Italian model.

The history of Portuguese nationality is a story of evolution. And, like all evolution, it is not over yet.

"Nationality is legal, but it is also identity. It is about who has the right to be recognized as Portuguese on paper and in life: in language, in customs, in the cultural imagination."

Frequently Asked Questions

Not directly. The path is for your parents (grandchildren of a Portuguese citizen) to first obtain nationality. After their recognition, you become the child of a Portuguese citizen and can apply for your citizenship.

They are proofs of connection with Portugal: legal residence, frequent trips, knowledge of the language, property ownership, participation in Portuguese associations, among others.

Attribution grants original nationality (from birth) — it transmits to descendants. Naturalization is derived nationality — until 2015, it did not transmit automatically.

It is a political choice. Italy has always maintained unrestricted jus sanguinis. Portugal chose to limit it to the first generations, although there is a movement to change this.