The Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN) has 515 thousand pending nationality applications in the first half of 2025, according to data updated on the Justice Portal.
This is the highest figure recorded in recent years and refers only to the first six months: 515,334 applications for nationality pending at the end of the first half of 2025.
According to data updated on the Justice Portal, in addition to these, the IRN had registered 121,460 nationality applications received, 92,257 approved and 3,649 rejected.
Since 2020, services have recorded the highest number of entries in 2022 (367,348), but the number of pending cases has increased consecutively.
In 2023, the most recent year to which the most detailed data refer, there were 73,278 attributions of nationality (i.e. granted on the basis of family ties with Portuguese people) and 41,393 acquisitions following applications and 8,129 rejections.
In the same year, nationality registrations by citizens of former Portuguese colonies totaled 1,332 and 73 nationality losses were recorded, the reasons for which are not stated.
The data from the Justice Portal also refer to the ‘top’ five countries of origin of nationality acquisitions, led by Brazil (10,365). In the list, with reference to the year 2016, they are followed by Cape Verde (3,922), Ukraine (3,249), Angola (1,937) and Guinea-Bissau (1,791).
According to government officials, of the more than 500,000 pending requests, only 15% relate to Portuguese citizens born abroad.
The Minister of the Presidency António Leitão Amaro said in the parliament ,“Access to and ownership of Portuguese citizenship cannot be made easier, it cannot be commercialised”, because “nationality cannot be a transaction or transition, to obtain a passport and then move to other European countries”, stated the minister.
In recent years, he considered, “the required connection with the national community has weakened and this has had consequences, the number of applications for nationality has soared, but not those from children of Portuguese parents”.