The number of annual requests for Portuguese citizenship made by Brazilians increased by 141% from 2010 to 2020. It went from 24,000 to 58,000, the Ministry of Justice informed Portugal Giro.
Since 2017, when the Brazilian community in Portugal grew back, requests increased by an amount of three thousand to eight thousand per year.
But in 2020, the year in which the Covid-19 pandemic exploded, the Ministry of Justice received 14,000 more requests from Brazilians than in 2019, as can be seen in the timeline at the end of the text.
This happened because the profile of citizenship requests made by Brazilians became an alternative to times of economic and political uncertainty in Brazil, as explained by São Paulo systems architect Felipe Freitas, who has been living in Lisbon for five months because he found a job.
— The uncertainties in Brazil had an impact on the decision to move and apply for citizenship. I was able to come because of the growing demand for information technology professionals. It's not hard to find job opportunities around here,” said Freitas.
The man from São Paulo said that he filed the lawsuit when he was still in Brazil with the help of the Martins Castro office, which managed to find records of the Portuguese great-grandfather.
— My father will have citizenship and, subsequently, mine and my brother's will come out. As citizenship is original, I will also pass it on to my children and guarantee European citizenship for the next generations - Freitas said.
It is possible that the increase in orders will be more significant. Data for 2021 are still open, but around 56,000 requests were approved by April: most of them made by Brazilians.
Consecutive changes in the Portuguese law that grants the benefit also contributed to this increase. Specialist in international law, lawyer Thiago Huver, from Martins Castro, says that one of the changes relaxed bureaucracy by requiring grandchildren to only speak Portuguese.
— The number of Brazilians with rights is high. Over the years, the dissemination of rules for access has increased. And whenever there is a financial and political crisis, the tendency is to look for other countries to reside temporarily - analyzed Huver.
The demand on public services in Portugal has been great and has caused a bottleneck in the process, causing processes to be concluded beyond the deadline established by law.
A process of granting citizenship by naturalization, which can be requested after five years of legal residence in Portugal, takes an average of one and a half years. But there are complaints that the wait has been longer.
When sending data to Parliament in 2021, the Ministry of Justice reported that it received more than 11,000 monthly requests last year. The folder stated that the execution of a new support system is in progress to reduce the processing.
Currently, the progress of orders can be consulted at this site.
The Ministry of Justice receives the requests and the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) issues a positive opinion. In 2020, the SEF received 64,300 requests for opinions overall. It was positive at 63.4, with 20.8 thousand for Brazilians.
It is not just Brazilians who seek Portuguese citizenship, which reached a record number of grants in 2020, with almost 150,000.
In April 2021, Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich obtained citizenship. He got the documents after a recognition process that took six months and would have proved his descent from the Sephardic Jews, persecuted and expelled from the Iberian Peninsula in the Inquisition.
However, two investigations are investigating the concession to the owner of Chelsea and made the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, guarantee that the concession to Abramovich followed the law.
Portugal has granted citizenship to descendants of Sephardic Jews since 2014. In 2020, São Paulo architect and interior designer Faride Elia filed the lawsuit and is awaiting completion.
"I got it the Sephardic route." I sent the documents and (the contracted office) was helpful. I didn't have any work,” said Elia, who hired Clube do Passaporte.
She pointed out that transmitting citizenship to her children was her biggest motivation.
— I have twins and I worry a lot about their future. As soon as mine comes out, I'll make theirs. It is for the future and for security. If they choose to live and work outside, they will have this facility - concluded Elia.
Evolution of requests for Portuguese citizenship made by Brazilians
2010 – 24 thousand
2011 – 21 thousand
2012 – 20 thousand
2013 – 20 thousand
2014 – 22 thousand
2015 – 27 thousand
2016 – 29 thousand
2017 – 32 thousand
2018 – 40 thousand
2019 – 44 thousand
2020 – 58 thousand
Source: Ministry of Justice
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