A common question we are asked is – What is the status of a spouse after the client receives Portuguese citizenship? The purpose of this post is to clarify this issue, and to indicate where there are still question marks.
The rights of a spouse due to Portugal’s membership in the European Union
Portugal is a member of the European Union. Today, there are 28 countries that are members of the EU: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. EU countries allow residents of other EU countries to work and live without restrictions. Usually, there is an easier access to universities in EU countries. Sometimes the tuition fee is reduced or free. These rights are also granted to the spouse of a Portuguese citizen, even if they do not hold EU citizenship. You can see details of the legal situation in the matter here tinyurl.com/ycse2xoj
Does the fact that one of the spouses has citizenship according to the Sephardi law automatically grants citizenship to the other spouse?
No.
Does the fact that one of the spouses has citizenship according to the Sephardi law makes it possible to receive citizenship for the other spouse?
A person who has been married to a citizen of Portugal for over six years or over three years with a common Portuguese child, may apply and obtain Portuguese citizenship. The marriage must be registered in Portugal before applying.
What if I married to my husband for 10 years, but he has been a Portuguese citizen only for a year and our children aren’t Portuguese citizens yet? Do I need to wait for 5 more years?