Minimum cost
$270
application fee
Timeline
3 years
residency required
Visa-free access
184
passport rank #5
Dual citizenship
Allowed
Path to citizenship
- Residency3 years · temporary
- Apply365-1825 days
- Citizenshipgranted
Overview
- Country
- Portugal
- Program
- Portuguese Citizenship for Sephardic Descendants
- Local name
- Nacionalidade Portuguesa para Descendentes de Judeus Sefarditas
- Type
- Ethnic Return
- Status
- Active
- Residency required
- 3 years
- Processing time
- 365-1825 days
- Dual citizenship
- Allowed
- Visa-free countries
- 184 destinations
- Passport rank
- #5 (Henley Index)
Citizenship for adult or emancipated descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews expelled during the Inquisition. The current regime requires proof of Sephardic Portuguese origin, belonging to a Sephardic community of Portuguese origin, and at least 3 years of legal residence in Portugal.
Fees and costs
- Application fee
- $270
- Passport fee
- $70
Eligibility and requirements
- Police clearance required
- Medical exam not required
Ancestry requirements
- Generational limit
- No limit
- Ancestor citizenship
- Not required
- Ethnic origin
- Sephardic_jewish
Passport and mobility
- Passport rank
- #5 (Henley Index)
- Visa-free access
- 184 countries
- Passport validity
- 5 years
- EU citizenship
- Yes
- Schengen access
- Yes
- US E-2 treaty
- Yes — eligible for US investor visa
Physical presence
- Must visit country
- Yes
How to apply
- Method
- Both
- Apply from abroad
- Yes
- Application type
- Open
- Official website
- justica.gov.pt
- Legal basis
- Decree-Law 30-A/2015, as amended by Law 2/2022 and later nationality regulations
Notes and caveats
Applicants must be adults or emancipated, prove Sephardic Portuguese origin, belong to a Sephardic community of Portuguese origin, and hold legal residence in Portugal for at least 3 years. Community certification, genealogical evidence, Ladino/family traditions, and Portuguese residence evidence are central to the file.