Portuguese Nationality Sephardic Origin

Just as in Spain, in Portugal, Decree-Law 30-A/2015 was published in February 2015 by which all those persons, who prove to have Sephardic Jewish ancestry, will be granted the application procedure for Portuguese nationality regardless of whether or not they reside in Portugal.

Obtaining a European Passport

The applicant is not required to travel to Portugal to sign the deed of notoriety, since the law allows this to be done through a proxy for the signature.

The application for Sephardic Jewish nationality does not require the applicant to be fluent in Portuguese and it is not necessary to take a language or cultural test.

Sephardic descendant originating from Portugal

Jewish Sephardic refers to the Jewish communities in the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal and Spain. In 1492, the Sephardic Jews were expelled from the kingdom. Portugal adapted policies contrary to the protection and guarantee of the Jewish population. A large part of the Jews of Spain were exiled in Portugal, increasing the population from 95,000 to 215,000 Jews by almost one million.

In response to this situation, King Manuel I decided in 1497 to expel the Sephardic Jews who were not baptized and converted to Catholicism. Many of these Sephardic Jews managed to escape and settle in some Mediterranean countries and northern Europe, and in other countries such as Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, the Antilles and the United States, to mention a few.

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Process to apply for Portuguese nationality

The procedure to apply for Portuguese nationality by Sephardic origin consists of two steps:

A certificate of Sephardic ancestry is required, which must be issued by the Jewish communities of Porto and/or Lisbon.
The application for nationality before the Portuguese Ministry of Justice, providing: Apostilled civil registry of birth, civil birth records or birth or baptism certificates of the applicant’s parents, certificate of Sephardic origin, certificate of criminal record apostilled and translated into Portuguese, copy of passport.

The application for Portuguese nationality by Sephardic origin does not require the person to be proficient in the Portuguese language and does not require a language or cultural test to be taken.

The person is not required to travel to Portugal to sign the notoriety deed, as the law approves that a proxy may be appointed for the signature.

The law has no expiration date, so people will be able to carry out this procedure whenever they wish without worrying about the time limitation.

Portugal allows multiple citizenship. Portuguese citizens do not have to renounce their foreign citizenship.

If you want to know more about the process, you can contact SERVICIO LEGAL S.A.S. ABOGADOS, specialists in immigration law and in the process of applying for Portuguese nationality due to Sephardic origin.