How to apply for Portuguese citizenship by naturalisation
This guide is for those who already live in Portugal legally and want to apply for citizenship through ordinary naturalisation. Below is the order of steps, which documents are usually prepared, where applications are made now and where people most often get stuck.
First check whether you are entitled to apply right now
The most important change: for naturalisation people used to go by 5 years of legal residence, but in 2026 the law was changed and the period has now been increased to 10 years. This change needs to be taken into account first of all.
If you were counting on the old 5 years, check whether you fall under the transitional rules for applications already submitted. In discussions people noted separately that applications already submitted should not be affected, but for new applications you have to go by the new wording of the Lei da Nacionalidade (nationality law).
“💔 The citizenship law has been published 👌 Now you have to live here 10 years to apply for Portuguese citizenship. Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026, de 18 de maio Alteração à Lei n.º 37/81, de 3 de outubro, que aprova a Lei da Nacionalidade. The law comes into force on 19 May. The second part, about stripping citizenship, was ruled unconstitutional.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkRussosEmPortugal18.05.2026
Work out your basis: naturalisation, marriage, a child, birth in Portugal are different procedures
Do not mix up the different routes to citizenship. Naturalisation by length of residence, citizenship through marriage, citizenship for a child and a child's birth in Portugal are separate grounds with separate sets of documents.
If you are applying as an adult by naturalisation, there is one set of documents and one logic of checks. If through marriage or for a child, the procedure is different. This matters because people often read someone else's experience, and it relates to a different category.
“If the child is correctly registered at the registry office (Registo Civil) with the necessary entry in the child's birth certificate and on the correct (required) date - on the 366th day of being in Portugal (even if the birth happened before that date), then the birth certificate already shows the child's nationality as Portugal (and not any other). And when registering a newborn you need to request a Cartão de Cidadão for the child straight away. As for why it worked for others and not for you, that depends on various factors and circumstances. In your case it would be good to first go to the registry office, to the Nacionali”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkRussosEmPortugal16.06.2024
Prove your knowledge of the language: A2 is usually required
For citizenship by naturalisation you usually need Portuguese at A2 level or above. The clearest and safest route is the official CIPLE exam through CAPLE. From recent experience, unofficial certificates sometimes lead to follow-up requests, even up to a demand to retake the exam within the accredited system.
If you are going via the exam, do not put off booking: places go quickly. Slots may appear a year ahead, but in practice they are often snapped up very fast, so it is best to keep an eye on the website in advance.
“I'd recommend taking the official CIPLE, because with certificates from various other schools not accredited by CAPLE there are follow-up requests, even up to having to retake it.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkRussosEmPortugal09.06.2026
“CIPLE exam. Booking is at the beginning of the year for a year ahead, places go really fast. But they say you can also book in Spain, or sometimes places come up, you have to keep monitoring the booking website. There's even a bot for it, apparently.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkchatalgarve28.01.2026
Book CIPLE in advance if you do not have a certificate yet
Registration for CIPLE goes through CAPLE (the Portuguese language examination system). From people's experience, places can disappear in literally an hour and a half, so it is better to watch for booking to open and not count on a slot waiting for you.
If there are no places in Portugal, people sometimes look for exam centres in other countries, but that is a fallback. For a citizenship application it is safer to have an official CAPLE certificate in hand before submitting your case.
“I only saw 7 February and 20 June with my own eyes, but since my payment didn't go through and I spent 1.5 hours with the university where the exam would be trying to figure out what was what, the slots went in 1.5 hours right in front of me( you could only see the slots from 15:00 to 16:30. If other dates opened before 14:00, they could all have been taken right away. You can look at the open slots for Diple to see which cities have them, those cities have already released slots for Ciple.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkschoolinportugal08.01.2026
“Not enough places on Portuguese courses for citizenship Portugal has run out of places on the Portuguese language courses needed to obtain citizenship. Público reports that because of this shortage immigrants are having to sign up for courses in Spain. Demand for courses at the minimum required level (A2) is also high in the neighbouring country. According to the newspaper, some people have to sign up for more advanced courses and pay more for them. At the same time, the centre responsible for running the exams in Portugal has increased the number of available places by 53% over the last three years. Expe”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linklepta03.11.2025
Put together the main set of documents
For naturalisation people usually prepare at least: a birth certificate with an apostille, a document proving knowledge of the language, criminal record certificates where required, a document proving your identity and a valid residence title in Portugal.
From people's real experience, adults applying by naturalisation were often asked for an apostilled birth certificate, criminal record certificates and the CIPLE certificate. But the set may differ depending on your situation: marital status, nationality, where you actually live, applying from Portugal or through a consulate.
“From my own experience I can only tell you about getting citizenship while already being a tax resident of Germany (for the third year). I'm not sure that's the right way. But when submitting the documents - I just didn't mention it. I gave a Portuguese address. Since it's the naturalisation process, they only asked me for an apostilled birth certificate, criminal record certificates and the CIPLE certificate. P.S. I believed in myself so much that I didn't even come to Lisbon to get the cartão de cidadão🙈 Made an agendamento on the Portuguese consulate's website. Came in, no queues. The whole thing took 15 minutes. There in the system they already”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkru_Portugal_pt19.08.2024
Get a certificate of your period of legal residence if your case needs it
For naturalisation the length of legal residence matters. In practice IRN (Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado, the Institute of Registries and Notaries) checks the details against AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo, the migration agency), formerly SEF.
In 2026 people also described a remote way of requesting the certificate from AIMA: through the Modelo 7 form, giving Nacionalidade as the purpose. You may need this document if your case requires separate proof of your periods of legal stay.
Prepare translations and check whether every document needs an apostille
Foreign documents for a Portuguese case are usually submitted with legalisation/an apostille, unless the countries have an exemption, and with a translation into Portuguese where required. At this step it is important not to guess but to check the requirements for your particular documents.
Most often people start with the birth certificate: they get a duplicate, have it apostilled and translated. If there has been a marriage, a divorce, a change of surname or you have several nationalities, check in advance whether additional civil status records will be needed.
“Yes, it's all simple there. Booked on the website for citizenship, there were lots of slots. Handed in the birth certificate for apostille and translation. Made copies of all the documents (internal and international Russian passports, marriage certificate, birth certificate). On the website you need to print not the application but annex 7. Going by the experience of the girls above, I wrote to the consulate's email and they replied that I'd be able to apply for the international passport straight away. For the passport you also needed all the copies, 4 photos of the child and 2 of me. Filled in the application online and printed it. Wasn't sure I'd filled it in right, turned out I had. They said the passport would be ready in a week. R”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkberemennost_portugal21.08.2024
Book an appointment at IRN or apply where your basis is accepted
As of 2025–2026, citizenship applications usually go through IRN, and appointments are caught through the SIGA portal or IRN's own booking channels. At individual balcões de nacionalidade (citizenship desks) the rules for seeing people may differ: some work only by appointment, at others people have tried to find out about walk-in service.
If you do not live in Lisbon, that does not mean you can only apply there. But before travelling it is best to check your particular office: whether it accepts naturalisation, whether you need an appointment and which copies they ask you to bring.
Submit the application and keep the proof of submission
At the submission they usually check the documents, accept the application, give you a confirmation and assign a case number. From then on it is important to keep all receipts, confirmations and letters, because there may be follow-up requests on your case.
If your case is not a standard one — for example, there were gaps in residence, changes of address or life between several countries — it is better to lay everything out by date in advance. This does not automatically speed up the review, but it reduces the risk that the case gets stuck on clarifications.
Watch for follow-up requests and reply quickly
After you apply for citizenship, they may ask for additional documents. Most often this concerns proof of language, civil status records, information about residence or documents from your country of nationality.
If you have several nationalities or do not live where you are formally registered, keep a particularly close eye on your post and the contact details in your case. A missed follow-up request can drag out the review considerably.
After approval, get a Cartão de Cidadão, then a passport
Once the citizenship has been registered, the Portuguese documents come next: first the Cartão de Cidadão (citizen card), then, if you wish, the Passaporte Eletrónico Português (Portuguese passport). This is a separate stage after the decision on the citizenship case.
From people's real experience, when applying for the Cartão de Cidadão at a consulate the system already shows the Portuguese birth certificate, biometrics are taken there, and the card is sent later. But this is no longer the citizenship application itself, but the next step after it is complete.
What it costs, according to community conversations
| savings for permanent residence | €30,000 | source |
What to bring
- valid passport and Portuguese título de residência (temporary or permanent residence card), if you have one
- certidão de nascimento / birth certificate with an apostille
- translation of the birth certificate into Portuguese, if required
- certificado CIPLE or another acceptable proof of language knowledge
- criminal record certificate / registo criminal, if required in your situation
- documents on marriage, divorce, change of surname — if applicable
- proof of legal residence in Portugal, if requested separately
- completed form/application for your basis
- copies of all documents submitted
Where people most often trip up
- Check the qualifying period under the new law: in 2026 the benchmark for naturalisation changed from 5 years to 10 years.
- Do not confuse naturalisation with citizenship through marriage, through a child or by birth in Portugal — they are different procedures.
- CIPLE places run out quickly; if you delay, you may put off your application for a long time.
- It is better to take the official CIPLE through CAPLE: non-accredited certificates lead to follow-up requests and even demands to retake the exam.
- IRN and AIMA are different bodies: you do not apply for citizenship to AIMA, but your legal residence details may be checked through AIMA.
- Birth certificates and other foreign records often need an apostille and a translation; a mistake in this set can easily hold up the case.
- Before travelling, check how your office sees people: some require a SIGA appointment, at others the rules change from one balcão to another.
- After applying, watch for letters and follow-up requests: a missed reply can drag out the review a lot.
How it went for people
Citizenship for a child when the parents have neither a residence permit nor a year of residence
The family moved when the wife was six months pregnant and applied for residence permits under article 89.2. By the time the child was born they had neither a year of residence, nor a single social security payment, nor a residence permit — only an expired visa and a submitted application. The father found out by chance that the child could still become a citizen if the parents got residence permits after the birth. They applied on 30 June at the Conservatória do Registo Civil (civil registry office) in Braga; the next day they were called and told there was a mistake in the passport, the replacement took almost three weeks, and the day after the correct passport was handed in the child got citizenship. The whole procedure took a month and cost €15: a new birth certificate arrived with a note of citizenship, and the citizen card was promised within ten days.
IRN asked for proof of a year living in the country before the children were born
The sons got Portuguese citizenship in Cascais. IRN (the Institute of Registries and Notaries) asked for proof that the parents had lived in the country for a year before the children were born: recibos verdes (self-employed invoices) for twelve months or a certificate from Segurança Social (the social security service) would do. The parents emailed the invoices to the officer, showed the documents for a property bought more than a year earlier and a certificate from the junta de freguesia (parish council) confirming they lived at a specific address. Citizenship and the other documents were arranged quickly.
Twins were given citizenship although the parents had no residence permits
A family with newborn twins went to a health centre in Cascais, where they were told the heel-prick test could not be done and were advised to register the children with IRN (the Institute of Registries and Notaries) first. There they were seen quickly, with a priority ticket, and the children got citizenship although the parents had no residence permits. No interpreter was needed: the staff were satisfied with the mother's A2 and the father's B1 Portuguese.
Retold in our own words from messages in open chats. The link leads to the full original message.