Portuguese Citizenship Reform After Commission v Malta

Portugal has long maintained one of the more accessible citizenship regimes in Europe, particularly through:

• residence-based naturalisation, and
• extended citizenship by descent frameworks, including for Sephardic Jewish ancestry.

Recent legislative reforms sought to tighten access conditions, including:

• redefining qualifying residence periods,
• revisiting evidentiary thresholds for descent, and
• strengthening integration requirements.

These reforms were subject to constitutional scrutiny, with the Portuguese Constitutional Court examining whether proposed changes:

• respected legitimate expectations,
• maintained proportionality, and
• aligned with constitutional guarantees of equality and legal certainty.

While the case is national in form, its implications are European in substance. It reflects a growing judicial sensitivity to how citizenship is structured, justified, and granted, rather than simply whether it falls within formal national competence.

Portugal’s reform does not arise from investor citizenship. Yet the constitutional climate in which it is being assessed cannot be separated from Commission v Malta.

As analysed in European Citizenship After Commission v Malta, the Court of Justice reframed nationality as:

• a matter of national competence, but
• subject to constitutional expectations derived from EU law, particularly where Union citizenship is engaged.

The central shift lies in the move from:

• formal entitlement → to
• substantive legitimacy

This affects not only investor citizenship, but also:

• descent-based claims with limited connection,
• accelerated naturalisation frameworks, and
• residence schemes lacking credible integration.

Portugal’s reform and its constitutional review therefore illustrate how Member States are beginning to anticipate and internalise this evolving legal standard.

key implication of the Portuguese developments is the growing recognition that citizenship cannot rely solely on formal criteria.

Historically:

• descent could extend across generations,
• residence could be calculated mechanically, and
• legal entitlement could arise with minimal scrutiny of real connection.

Today, that approach is increasingly questioned.

The emerging European position suggests that:

• citizenship must reflect a credible legal relationship,
• connection must be demonstrable, and
• acquisition must be legally defensible beyond form.

This shift is not yet codified in a single doctrine, but its contours are increasingly visible across case law and legislative reform.

The doctrine articulated in Malta, Contributive Belonging and the Reordering of European Citizenship Law provides a structured way to understand this evolution.

It proposes that citizenship should be assessed through:

• lawful presence,
• genuine ties,
• recognised contribution, and
• proportionate integration.

Crucially, it avoids two extremes:

• citizenship as a commodity, and
• citizenship as a vague moral judgment.

Instead, it offers a legally intelligible standard aligned with modern mobility patterns, as further framed within the CCLEX Mobility Assets Spectrum, where citizenship and residence are treated as structured legal assets rather than transactional outcomes.

Portugal’s reform trajectory can be read through this lens. The emphasis is shifting towards:

• credible connection,
• evidentiary robustness, and
• alignment with constitutional values.

The European landscape now reflects a clear distinction:

• Golden passports (citizenship by investment) → effectively terminated within the EU following Commission v Malta
• Golden visas (residency by investment) → remain, but under increasing scrutiny

Golden visas continue to exist in jurisdictions such as:

• Portugal (subject to reforms),
• Greece,
• Cyprus, and
• Latvia

However, their role is evolving.

They are no longer:

• stepping stones to automatic citizenship, or
• standalone mobility solutions

Instead, they are:

• residency tools within broader legal structures,
• subject to substance, presence, and integration expectations, and
• increasingly assessed within the same constitutional logic that ended investor citizenship.

This reinforces the distinction highlighted in European Citizenship After Commission v Malta:
citizenship requires legal substance; residence cannot be used to circumvent that requirement.

Across Europe, a consistent pattern is emerging:

• Member States are tightening access to citizenship
• Courts are scrutinising the legal basis and legitimacy of acquisition routes
• Legislatures are recalibrating frameworks to ensure defensibility
• Advisors must move from programme selection to legal structuring

Portugal’s constitutional review is part of this broader movement.

It demonstrates that:

• even non-investment routes are now subject to closer examination,
• formal entitlement is no longer sufficient, and
• citizenship law is entering a more constitutionally disciplined phase.

For globally mobile individuals, families, and advisors, the implications are clear:

• Citizenship planning must prioritise legal substance and credibility
• Residence strategies must align with tax, lifestyle, and long-term positioning
• Descent and naturalisation routes require strong evidentiary support
• Investment alone is no longer a sufficient basis for citizenship outcomes

In this environment, the question is no longer:

• “Which programme is available?”

but rather:

• “Which pathway is legally sustainable and defensible over time?”

Strategic Outlook

Portugal’s constitutional review, viewed alongside Commission v Malta, confirms that European citizenship law is undergoing structural change.

The era of formalistic and transactional approaches is giving way to:

• substance-based evaluation,
• constitutional scrutiny, and
• integration through lawful connection and contribution

The doctrine of Contributive Belonging provides a coherent framework for this transition, offering a legally grounded alternative to both commodification and uncertainty.

Portugal’s evolving position suggests that this is not an isolated development, but part of a broader European trajectory.

Our European citizenship lawyers advise internationally mobile individuals, families, and their advisers on lawful pathways to residence and citizenship across Europe.

We assist clients in:

• navigating legislative reforms such as those in Portugal,
• structuring residence and citizenship strategies aligned with EU legal developments,
• evidencing credible connection and contribution, and
• ensuring long-term legal defensibility of citizenship outcomes

Our advisory approach is grounded in the principles outlined in European Citizenship After Commission v Malta and the doctrine of Contributive Belonging, ensuring that strategies remain aligned with the evolving European legal order.

About the Expert

Dr Jean-Philippe Chetcuti is a Maltese advocate and internationally recognised citizenship and immigration lawyer with over 25 years of specialised experience in European and global nationality, residence, immigration, and tax law across jurisdictions. He is Co-Founder and Senior Partner at Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates.

He is the author of the Dual Citizenship Report and the CCLEX Mobility Assets Spectrum, and has contributed to policy development in citizenship law and sustainable mobility frameworks, including advancing the doctrine set out in Malta, Contributive Belonging and the Reordering of European Citizenship Law.