The Two Decrees, Not One
The international press coverage of Portugal's April 1, 2026 nationality reform has tended to describe it as a single bill. The Portuguese parliamentary record is clearer: Parliament passed two separate decrees on the same day. The first amends the Nationality Law itself (Lei n.º 37/81) by extending the residency requirement for naturalisation from five years to seven years for nationals of EU and CPLP states, and to ten years for everyone else. This decree also changes the residency clock to count from the date of issuance of the first residence card (not from the application date), tightens the criminal-conviction threshold, terminates the Sephardic ancestry pathway, and introduces a civic-knowledge integration test.
The second decree amends the Penal Code (Código Penal) to permit Portuguese courts to impose loss of nationality as an accessory criminal penalty when sentencing naturalised Portuguese citizens for certain serious offences. This is structurally different from the Nationality Law amendment because it operates through the criminal justice system rather than through the citizenship petition system. The Constitutional Court struck this provision down in an earlier version (Acórdão 1133/2025) on December 15, 2025, which is one of the reasons Parliament was forced to revise and re-vote the package on April 1.
The two decrees were transmitted together to Belém Palace around April 13, 2026. Both required action from President António José Seguro within the constitutional decision window. The two decrees, however, present materially different constitutional issues, and the Socialist Party's response to them has been correspondingly different. Treating the package as a single object obscures the legal posture; treating the two decrees as separate items is what actually predicts what happens next for citizenship applicants.
What the PS Sent to the Constitutional Court
On April 21, 2026, fifty-one Socialist Party deputies signed a request for preventive constitutional review under Article 278 of the Portuguese Constitution. ECO reported that the request targets the Penal Code amendment specifically — the loss-of-nationality-as-accessory-penalty decree — and not the main Nationality Law residency decree. The grounds invoked include violations of the principle of proportionality, the principle of necessity of punishment, and the equality principle, all of which the Constitutional Court has previously examined in the context of accessory criminal penalties.
The Constitutional Court has 25 consecutive days from receipt to issue a ruling on a preventive review request. The Court can find the referred provisions constitutional (in which case the President can promulgate after the ruling), unconstitutional in whole or in part (in which case the President must veto on that basis), or unconstitutional with specific guidance for revision (in which case Parliament can re-vote with the changes). The Court's December 15, 2025 ruling on the prior version of this Penal Code amendment was a partial-unconstitutionality finding, which is why the April 1 version was a revision rather than a fresh proposal.
For wealthy English-speaking expats, the criminal-penalty decree is largely irrelevant in practical terms. The accessory penalty applies to citizens convicted of serious crimes, and the cohort of expats this blog addresses is not the population at risk of those convictions. The decree does, however, carry symbolic weight as part of the broader nationality reform package, and its constitutional fate will affect the political coalition holding the reform together. A decisive ConstitutionalCourt ruling against it could destabilise the PSD-Chega-IL-CDS-PP coalition and shift the prospects of the residency decree as well.
Why the PS Left the Residency Decree Out
The Socialist Party's deliberate choice to refer only the criminal-penalty decree, and not the main residency decree, is the politically most consequential element of the April 21 filing. Portuguese press reporting characterised the choice as a calculated bet on President Seguro himself. With a Socialist President now in office (Seguro was elected in February 2026), the PS faced a decision: refer both decrees and centralise the constitutional review at the Court, or refer only the most legally exposed decree and leave the residency decree to the President's own judgment.
By choosing the second path, the PS shifts political responsibility for the residency decree to Seguro. The President can sign and promulgate, exercise a political veto, or refer the decree himself to the Constitutional Court for preventive review. Each of these options has political costs, and the PS calculation is that Seguro will choose either a veto or a referral — both of which delay or defeat the decree without forcing the PS to act in court. If Seguro signs without challenge, the political cost falls on him, not on the PS.
Observador's coverage of the period framed the situation as "fiscalizar outra vez ou confiar em Seguro" (review again or trust Seguro), capturing the dilemma. The article noted that as the law arrived at Belém, the PS faced direct political pressure either to maintain its prior preventive-review posture or to defer. The April 21 filing is the resolution of that dilemma — partial referral, partial trust.
What That Means for Seguro on the Main Decree
With the criminal-penalty decree at the Constitutional Court, the main residency decree is in Seguro's hands alone. Three paths remain available to him under Articles 136 and 278 of the Constitution. He can sign and promulgate the decree, in which case the residency-extension provisions enter into force the day after Diário da República publication. He can exercise a political veto under Article 136(2), returning the decree to Parliament, which can override with an absolute majority of 116 deputies (the April 1 vote of 151 to 65 already exceeded this threshold). Or he can refer the decree himself to the Constitutional Court for preventive review on substantive grounds the PS did not raise — for instance, the absence of transitional protection or the residency-clock-from-card-issuance rule.
Seguro's prior public statements have emphasised institutional stability and the need for cross-party consensus on laws of significant social sensitivity. Público reported that immediately after the April 1 vote Seguro asked for the law to be "sem marcas ideológicas" (without ideological marks) and consensual, signalling discomfort with the partisan posture of the package. A political veto is consistent with this stated position and would force Parliament back to the negotiating table. A constitutional referral is also consistent and would defer the decision while pressing for legal review.
As of early May 2026, the Portuguese press has not reported a final decision from Belém on the main residency decree. The standard organic-law decision window for a President is up to twenty days under Article 136, with an expedited eight-day window in some procedural configurations. Both windows have likely elapsed by now, which means an action has been taken — but the action has not been publicly announced or has not yet been reported in international press. This is the live question for citizenship applicants whose plans depend on the timing.
Which Provisions Affect Wealthy Expats Either Way
For the wealthy English-speaking expat cohort, the residency decree is the operationally important one. Three of its provisions matter most. First, the citizenship residency requirement extends from five years to seven years (EU/CPLP) or ten years (everyone else). For US, UK, Canadian, Australian, and most Western European applicants under standard residence permits, this is a five-year extension over the prior framework. Second, the residency clock now counts from the date of issuance of the first residence card, not from the application date. We covered the operational consequences in our piece on the residency clock starting at first card issuance. Third, the criminal-conviction threshold tightens to three years.
The residency decree contains no statutory transitional protection. Petitions filed under the prior 5-year rule but not yet decided will be processed under the new framework once it enters force. This is the central planning problem for the cohort of applicants who completed five years in early-to-mid 2026: their petition's outcome depends on whether it is decided before or after Diário da República publication of the new decree. We covered the practical petition strategy in our piece on the pre-promulgation citizenship petition strategy.
The Penal Code amendment is largely irrelevant for the wealthy expat cohort in operational terms. None of the practical AIMA processes — residence permit applications, renewals, family reunification, Golden Visa — interact with the accessory-penalty decree. Its constitutional fate matters indirectly because of the political coalition implications, but it does not affect any individual applicant's filing strategy.
What to Monitor This Week
The single most important monitoring task is the Diário da República daily publication. The Diário is published Monday through Friday and contains the official record of every law and regulation taking effect. A nationality decree publication appears in Series I and is straightforward to find when it lands. Subscribing to email alerts on the dre.pt portal gives you same-day notification, which is what plans depending on the timing require.
The second monitoring source is the Belém Palace press office. Any presidential action on either decree — promulgation, veto, or constitutional referral — is announced through Belém's communications channel before or simultaneous with the Diário publication. Following the @PresidenciaPT social media accounts and the standard Portuguese press (Público, Observador, Expresso, ECO, Sábado) gives you the political signal in advance of the formal publication.
The third monitoring source is the Constitutional Court itself. The Court publishes its rulings on the preventive review proceedings on the tribunalconstitucional.pt portal in the Acórdãos section. The April 21 PS referral on the criminal-penalty decree should produce a ruling within 25 days — placing the deadline somewhere around mid-May 2026. If Seguro himself referred the residency decree, that ruling would also appear on the same portal. Following the portal closely during May is the closest thing to advance notice for citizenship applicants.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has Portugal's new nationality law come into force yet?
Not as of early May 2026. Parliament passed two related decrees on April 1, 2026, transmitted to President Seguro around April 13. The PS submitted a Constitutional Court referral on April 21 covering only the Penal Code amendment. The main residency-extension decree's status with the President has not been publicly resolved. Until Diário da República publication, neither decree is in force.
What did the Socialist Party send to the Constitutional Court?
On April 21, 2026, 51 PS deputies signed a preventive review request targeting the Penal Code amendment that would allow loss of nationality as an accessory criminal penalty. The Constitutional Court has 25 consecutive days under Article 278 to rule.
Why did the PS not refer the main residency decree?
Portuguese press reporting characterised the choice as a calculated political bet on President Seguro. By referring only the criminal-penalty decree, the PS shifts political responsibility for the residency decree to the President under his own constitutional powers (sign, veto, or refer himself).
If the main residency decree is signed, when does it enter into force?
On the day after publication in the Diário da República. The April 1 decree contains no statutory grandfathering. Petitions filed before publication but not yet decided are still processed under the new framework absent a constitutional argument.
Should I file my citizenship petition now or wait for clarity?
File now if you have completed five years under the prior rules. Waiting gains nothing because the publication moment can come without warning. Filing immediately with a complete documentary record is the highest-leverage action regardless of Seguro's path.