Portugal’s 2026 Immigration Reforms: What Changed for Family Reunification, Work Visas, and Citizenship

Over the past year, Portugal has reformed several parts of its immigration and nationality framework. If you’re planning a move to Portugal, already hold a residence permit, or are thinking ahead to citizenship, it’s worth understanding what actually changed,  and what these changes mean for your specific plans.

Family Reunification: New Requirements

Family reunification rules changed meaningfully under the current Immigration Law (Lei 61/2025), in force since October 2025:

• A minimum of 2 years of legal residence is now required before you can exercise the right to bring family members to Portugal
• Where you apply from now matters more. Requests to bring minor children can still be filed from within Portugal, but for adult family members, the request generally needs to be made from outside Portuguese territory, subject to approval by Portuguese authorities before they travel
• Requests can be denied on grounds of public order, security, or public health, grounds that didn’t previously apply in the same way
• Tacit approval no longer applies. Previously, if AIMA didn’t respond to a family reunification request within the legal deadline, the request could be considered automatically approved. That automatic approval mechanism has been eliminated, which means a delayed response from AIMA no longer works in the applicant’s favor by default

For anyone planning to bring a spouse, children, or other dependents to Portugal, these changes make timing and preparation more important than before,  particularly the shift away from tacit approval, which previously served as a safety net during AIMA’s processing delays.

Work-Seeking Visas: Now Limited to Highly Qualified Workers

Previously, it was possible to enter Portugal on a visa to look for work without already having a job offer or contract in hand. Under the current rules, this path remains available only for highly qualified workers. For most other categories of workers, a contract or formal job offer is now effectively required before applying.

Citizenship: Longer Residency Requirements

The reformed Nationality Law, promulgated in April 2026 after revisions required by the Constitutional Court, introduced a longer path to Portuguese citizenship for most applicants:

• General naturalization now requires 10 years of legal residence in Portugal, up from the previous 5-year threshold

• Citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries (CPLP) benefit from a shorter path: 7 years of legal residence

• Automatic nationality for children of foreign parents born in Portugal is no longer unconditional, it now requires that at least one parent have held at least 3 years of legal residence at the time of the child’s birth

• The special regime for descendants of Sephardic Jews has been closed to new applications

• Naturalization based on being the parent of a child registered as Portuguese is no longer an available path

For naturalization through marriage or a long-term partnership, the residency requirement for the Portuguese or already-naturalized sponsor has also been adjusted: generally 2 years of legal residence, reduced to 15 months for couples who already lived together for at least 18 months, or waived in cases involving minor dependents of the couple.

The President, in promulgating the new law, noted that pending applications should not be negatively affected by the change,  a detail worth keeping in mind if your naturalization process was already underway before these rules took effect, though how this principle applies can still depend on the specifics of your case.

What This Means If You’re Already in Process

If your plans involve family reunification, a work-seeker visa, or a path toward citizenship, these reforms are worth factoring into your timeline:

• If you’re not yet at the 2-year mark for family reunification, or the 10-year (or 7-year, for CPLP nationals) mark for naturalization, plan around the current thresholds rather than the ones that applied previously
• If you were counting on a work-seeker visa without a confirmed job offer, check whether your qualifications meet the “highly qualified” bar now required
• If you have a pending application that was filed before these changes, it’s worth confirming how your specific case is being treated under the transition

Planning Around a Moving Target

Portugal’s immigration framework has shifted more than once over the past couple of years, and further adjustments remain possible. Rather than planning around outdated assumptions, it’s worth having your specific timeline and goals reviewed against the rules that are actually in force today.

This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Immigration rules continue to evolve, and how they apply can depend on individual circumstances — we recommend a case-specific consultation to confirm how current requirements affect your situation.