on March 19, 2022

Changes in the regulation of Portuguese nationality law for Sephardic descendants

on March 19, 2022

Mudanças no regulamento da lei da nacionalidade portuguesa para descendentes sefarditas

Follow here all the updates on the recent changes in the regulation of the Portuguese nationality law for Sephardic descendants.

March 18, 2022

The wait is over. Today, March 18, 2022, changes to the regulation of Portuguese nationality were published, which directly impact the descendants of Sephardic Jews.

These changes will affect the certification processes by the Israeli communities of Lisbon and Porto in order to bring more clarity and transparency to the process. Now the certificates will have to be standardized and it will be indicated which means of proof was used to make the link between the applicant for nationality and the Jew of Sephardic origin.

For the Conservatória, the change lies in proving an effective and lasting connection to the Portuguese community, whether through property ownership, equity interests or even through regular lifelong trips to Portugal.

The new rules for nationality processes for descendants of Sephardic Jews will come into effect on September 1 of this year. Martins Castro is working in a task force to ensure the best solutions for our customers and to keep them always up to date.

March 16, 2022

As expected, the amendment to the Portuguese nationality regulation will be published in the coming days. Therefore, very soon, we will have knowledge of the officially modified text and the impacts that will occur in the processes of Portuguese nationality through the Sephardic route.

What is known is that the change will occur at the time of certification by the Israeli communities. This means that there will be no changes in the processes already submitted to the Registry.

If the text amending the regulation has not undergone major changes, there will be a standardization of the certification process, which will bring more clarity and transparency about the criteria for issuing the certificate. On the other hand, there are some points of interpretation that must be clarified by the communities regarding the change in the certification process.

Therefore, the processes of clients already at the registry office or with issued certificates will not be affected by the change in the regulation.

As no changes have occurred to date, Israeli communities will continue to operate in the same way until the new rules come into effect. Before that date, there are no measures to be taken by customers who are at CIL waiting for certification and for those who are in the genealogy development phase for submission of the process.

We will be attentive to the publication of the regulation change and in constant contact with the Israeli communities to understand the impact on the certification process.

We remain at your disposal for any clarification that may be necessary.