Changes to Portugal’s Immigration and Nationality Rules in 2025: what has (and hasn’t) been decided?

In recent days, news has been circulating about possible significant changes to Portugal’s immigration rules and nationality law. This information, which is often taken out of context or misinterpreted, has caused concern among those planning to immigrate to the country – especially in a legal, structured and responsible way.

The main purpose of this article is to reassure and clarify. The truth is that no concrete changes have yet been approved. We are dealing with proposals in the political discussion phase, some of which have been highlighted because they could have an impact on areas such as the minimum length of residence for applying for nationality, the list of professions and requirements for applying for a work-seeker’s visa and the possibility of applying for family reunification.

Among the proposed points are

– Increase in the minimum time of legal residence in Portugal to apply for Portuguese nationality;

– Restricting the work-seeker visa to a pre-defined list of highly qualified professions;

– Requirement of two years of legal residence to enable family reunification (not affecting those who already have a residence permit for more than 2 years; family members who are minors as well as family members of Portuguese/European citizens).

However, it is essential to stress that these are only proposals, being debated internally by the Portuguese government and not yet having any practical or legislative effect.

In the past, Portugal has had several legislative proposals that didn’t go ahead or were substantially altered until their final version. Nothing has been decided and, as the legislative history shows, anything – and nothing – can happen.

It’s important to note that visas for those who are preparing responsibly to come and live in Portugal are not under any kind of threat. This is the case with digital nomad visas, passive income visas (for pensioners or periodic annuity holders) and entrepreneur visas, among others.

What the Portuguese state is seeking with these discussions is to create mechanisms for better migration management, ensuring that the number of people entering the country is compatible with the capacity of public services, especially AIMA – the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum.

The intention is to improve the capacity and efficiency of the service, which involves matching demand to response capacity.

So there is no cause for alarm or despair on the part of those who are dealing with their documentation in a structured and legal manner. On the contrary, those who follow the correct procedures, with the right advice, will continue to find Portugal an open country for immigration, as long as it is organized, planned and compatible with the laws in force.

We reiterate: continue with your project, get information from reliable sources and, above all, avoid decisions based on alarmist news. Responsible advocacy is here to accompany every step of this process and ensure that your rights are respected – even in changing scenarios.