"I'm the great-granddaughter of the immigrant, so I don't qualify."
Cheri -- Actually, you do (at least to apply), but under a different
provision of the Lei da Nacionalidade ("LN"; the Nationality Law). I'm in
exactly the same situation but am preparing my petition for
naturalization under this other provision.
In a nutshell, the LN works (in relevant part) as follows:
1. Some people are inherently entitled to Portuguese citizenship. Among
people born outside Portugal, that includes, for example, children born
to a Portuguese parent. The process for such individuals to acquire
citizenship is one of claiming that which they are automatically entitled
to under the LN.
2. Those who are not automatically entitled to receive citizenship can
still acquire it -- through naturalization. There are several grounds on
which one can seek naturalization. One of these is indeed to be a
grandchild of a citizen (who must not have given up
Portuguese citizenship). Under that route, the residency requirement that
exists for some of the other routes to naturalization does not apply, but
there is still the requirement to have basic competence in Portuguese.
However, there are also several separate routes to naturalization available
for "special cases," and these special cases are: people who formerly held
Portuguese nationality; luso-descendants (without being limited to the 2nd
degree or to the other requirements about being still alive and not having
given up citizenship) or members of "communities of Portuguese ancestry";
and those who have provided "relevant" services to the Portuguese state or
to the "national community."
At least as I understand it, the provision about "communities of Portuguese
ancestry" does not cover luso-descendants who can actually trace their
known ancestry back to Portugal but rather is meant to provide an easier
route to naturalization for descendants of communities such as in Goa,
Macau, Malacca, etc., where the ties may not be traceable all the way back
to Portugal but which are ongoing communities known historically to have
collective genetic and cultural ties back to Portugal. As I recall, this
is also the provision under which Portugal now, subsequent to recent
legislation, processes naturalization petitions from Sephardim who claim
Portuguese descent.
The provision regarding "descendentes de portugueses," descendants of
Portuguese, is therefore the one that many of us have available to use. By
classifying us among "special cases" the LN seems to be reserving to the
government even greater discretion as to approving naturalization
applications than it has with respect to the other grounds for
naturalization (such as grandchildren who meet the additional requirements
I mention above). In past conversations with Portuguese immigration
lawyers, it was suggested to me that such applications would be enhanced
(since they are "special cases") if one could demonstrate involvement in
luso-descendant communities (cultural groups, church groups, chambers of
commerce, etc.).
Interestingly, though, this "special case" route does *not* include any
language proficiency requirement. (Nor is there a residency requirement.)
Unfortunately, the Portuguese Embassy site's coverage of consular services
does not address this "special cases" route. If one reads Portuguese,
these links are very useful:
Overview of acquisition of Portuguese nationality:
http://www.nacionalidade.sef.pt/aquisicao.htm#
Questions and answers about acquisition of Portuguese nationality:
*http://www.nacionalidade.sef.pt/duvidas.html#a6*<http://www.nacionalidade.sef.pt/duvidas.html#a6>
>From the above links, these are the most relevant excerpts for those of us
who are "special cases," i.e., you cannot meet the requirements as a
grandchild, whether because your last Portuguese citizen ancestor was
further back (e.g., for me it's three great-grandparents and two
great-great-grandparents), or your grandparent gave up Portuguese
nationality, or you don't speak at least basic Portuguese:
Em casos especiais: (n.º 6 do art. 6.º da LN)
O Governo pode conceder a nacionalidade portuguesa, por naturalização, em
casos especiais, aos estrangeiros que já foram detentores da
nacionalidadeportuguesa, aos havidos como descendentes de portugueses, aos
membros de
comunidades de ascendência portuguesa e aos estrangeiros que tenham
prestado ou sejam chamados a prestar serviços relevantes ao Estado
Português ou à comunidade nacional, quando satisfaçam os seguintes
requisitos:
Ser maior de idade (18 anos) ou ser emancipado à face da lei portuguesa;
Não ter sido condenado, com trânsito em julgado da sentença, pela prática
de crime punível com pena de prisão de máximo igual ou superior a 3 anos,
segunda a lei portuguesa.
* * *
*H**avidos como descendentes de portugueses ou membros de comunidades de
ascendência portugues*a
- Certidão do registo de nascimento do interessado;
- Certidões dos registos de nascimento dos ascendentes portugueses;
- Certificados do registo criminal emitido pelos serviços competentes
portugueses, do país da naturalidade e da nacionalidade, bem com dos
países onde tenha tido e tenha residência.
O interessado poderá estar dispensado de apresentar o registo criminal
português.
[end of excerpts]
For those of us whose most recent Portuguese citizen ancestor was born
before the introduction of civil registration, I am assuming that copies of
parish registers' baptismal records will suffice to meet the requirement
for "certidões dos registos de nascimento dos ascendentes portugueses," but
I'm not positive, and I was prepared to go ahead and file my petition
without knowing for certain but thought I should clarify it first -- and
that's where I got hung up and have delayed while focusing on other matters
for awhile. I hope soon to resume my inquiries for clarification on this
point, and can share what I find out -- or perhaps someone here already
knows the answer? I'm hoping that if a copy of the CCA PDFs won't suffice,
there is a way to obtain and then submit a certified copy of the same
issued by the relevant Arquivo Distrital or other governmental agency.
In a nutshell, for those of us who cannot meet the grandchild requirements,
the "special case" route offers an alternative (and without the language
requirement, if that matters to you). Nonetheless, given the "special
case" characterization, it's not clear how easy it is to get approval or
if additional factors not listed in the law come into play (such as
luso-descendant community involvement). As I learn more through proceeding
with my own petition, I will share that knowledge here for anyone who may
be interested in pursuing their own petition.
Lastly, I would just caution anyone considering dual citizenship to speak
first with a US (or Canadian, etc., as the case may be) immigration lawyer
just to confirm that you go about it in a way that ensures you don't wind
up renouncing your original citizenship (unless you want to, of course).
It would also be important to speak with a Portuguese lawyer (or more, if
needed) and a lawyer of your home country (or more, if needed), each of
whom is competent to advise you on matters of taxation, family law, and
other areas of law that may be affected by your taking dual nationality.
Keep in mind that you will become subject to two countries' laws, taxation
systems, etc., both at the same time, which may have unforeseen results for
you.
David da Silva Cornell
On Thursday, December 5, 2013 6:54:09 PM UTC-5, Cheri Mello wrote:
> I understood the same thing John Raposo did. I'm the great-granddaughter
> of the immigrant, so I don't qualify. My dad would have to become a
> Portuguese citizen. He's not interested. They don't have a bridge to
> drive his motor home/recreational vehicle there, so he's not going anywhere
> except the U.S. and Canada. LOL
> Cheri Mello
>
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