Government tightens nationality rules for Sephardic Jews
The new decree-law will not have retroactive effect, but should help reduce the number of applicants for Portuguese citizenship.
The Council of Ministers approved in February a decree-law, which has already been promulgated by the president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, to strengthen the attribution of nationality to Sephardic Jews, requiring that there is a concrete link to Portugal proven through documents, according to Público on Wednesday.
In question is, for example, the proof of a property inherited in Portugal or visits to the national territory throughout one’s life. Until now, they only had to prove descent from Sephardic Jews, whose certification was delegated to the Israeli Community of Porto (CIP) and the Israeli Community of Lisbon (CIL).
The decree-law will not have retroactive effect, but should help reduce the number of applicants for Portuguese citizenship. It was in 2013 that a revision to the Nationality Law was unanimously approved that opened up the possibility of granting Portuguese nationality to descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled from Portugal in the late 15th century. Already in 2020 there was an attempt to change the law by the PS to prevent the commercialisation of Portuguese citizenship.
