Constitutional Court Rules on the New Nationality Law

Following the Socialist Party’s (PS) request for a constitutional review, the Constitutional Court has ruled that certain provisions of the New Nationality Law are unconstitutional.

The Court considered unconstitutional the articles providing for the loss of Portuguese nationality due to the practice of crimes, the loss of nationality in cases where it was granted through a fraudulent process, and the immediate rejection of pending applications when all legal requirements are not met at the time of submission.

At the same time, other key aspects of the reform were not considered unconstitutional, namely the absence of a transition period for the law to enter into force and the rules concerning the counting of the minimum legal residence period required for naturalisation.

As a consequence of this decision, the President of the Republic must return the law to Parliament, where the unconstitutional provisions will need to be discussed and amended, followed by a new parliamentary vote. Until this process is completed, the new law will not enter into force, and the current nationality rules remain applicable.