The law changed on 19 May 2026. How the new clock works, and how it measures up against Italy and Greece.
If you have been reading about Portugal citizenship by investment for a while, the figure in your head is probably five years. For more than a decade that was the rule, and it was the reason many families chose Portugal in the first place. It is no longer the rule, and a great deal of what is still online has simply not been updated.
This piece sets out how the timeline works now, how the count is calculated, and how Portugal compares with the two programmes families most often weigh it against. For the full detail of the law itself, our guide to the Portugal citizenship law as it stands is the place to start.
| Since 19 May 2026, Golden Visa holders become eligible to apply for Portuguese citizenship after ten years of legal residence, or seven for EU and CPLP nationals, counted from the day the first permit is issued. |
What changed on 19 May 2026
Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 amended Portugal’s Nationality Law and has applied since 19 May 2026. It changed two things. The residence period required for naturalisation rose from five years to ten, with a shorter seven year track for citizens of EU member states and of the CPLP, the community of Portuguese speaking countries that includes Brazil, Angola and Mozambique. And the count now starts when the first residence permit is issued, rather than when the application was made.
There is a transition rule. Citizenship applications filed with the civil registry on or before 18 May 2026 are assessed under the old five year rule, and anything filed from 19 May onwards falls under the new count. Two families with identical histories can therefore sit on different timelines depending only on when they filed.
The seven year track is narrower than it sounds. It covers EU and CPLP nationals only, so British, American, Canadian and South African applicants are all on the ten year count. Most of the families we work with are on ten years.
What did not change is just as important. The route into residency is still a €500,000 subscription to a fund regulated by the CMVM, Portugal’s securities regulator, and the permit is still kept valid on an average of seven days a year. The language requirement is still A2. The law moved the citizenship clock and nothing else.
How the count actually works
The start date matters more than it first appears. Because the clock begins when the first card is issued, any time spent waiting for that card does not count. Given how long AIMA, the immigration agency, has taken to process applications, that can be a meaningful stretch.
An illustrative example makes it concrete. A first residence card issued in March 2027 would put the ten year mark in March 2037, or March 2034 on the seven year track. The arithmetic shows how the count works. It says nothing about approval.
What the years must contain is legal residence under a valid permit. For Golden Visa holders, the permit stays valid on the light presence requirement, so the count keeps running while you live elsewhere. That is the feature that sets Portugal apart from every alternative below. At the end, the application is assessed on Portuguese at A2, a clean criminal record and the other conditions in the law, and approval is a decision for the Portuguese state rather than a formality.
The permit must stay valid through every renewal. A lapse leaves a gap in the record, and a lawyer should talk you through the consequences before it happens rather than after.
Italy: ten years, lived in the country
Italy’s timeline is the same length on paper and very different in practice. Naturalisation requires ten years of lawful, continuous residence, with Italian at B1, one level above Portugal’s A2. The difference is that Italian residence for this purpose means years genuinely lived in the country.
Italy’s Investor Visa carries no minimum stay, which suits families wanting a European base without moving, but years held from abroad do not build towards a passport. The ten year rule was put to a referendum in June 2025, proposing a cut to five years. It failed because turnout fell below the required threshold, and the rule stands. Permanent residence is available earlier, after five years, through the EU long term permit.
Greece: seven years, lived in the country
Greece offers the shortest headline figure of the three, but again the years must be lived there. Naturalisation requires seven years of continuous legal residence, which in practice means spending most of each year in Greece. Applicants also sit the PEGP, a naturalisation exam covering Greek at B1 alongside history, culture and civic institutions.
The Greek Golden Visa asks for no minimum stay to keep the permit. Holding it from abroad keeps the permit alive, but it does not start the citizenship clock in any meaningful sense.
The three timelines side by side
| Portugal | Italy | Greece | |
| Years to eligibility | 10 (7 for EU and CPLP) | 10 | 7 |
| Language | Portuguese A2 | Italian B1 | Greek B1, PEGP exam |
| When the clock starts | First permit issued | Registered residence | Actual residence |
| What the years require | 7 days a year keeps the permit valid | Genuine residence in Italy | Genuine residence in Greece |
Each figure marks the point at which an application becomes possible, not a promise of approval, and each country applies further conditions on character, integration and documentation.
Why buying EU citizenship is no longer possible
EU citizenship by investment used to be sold outright, by Malta. That ended in April 2025, when the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that granting nationality in exchange for predetermined payments breaches EU law. Spain closed its Golden Visa the same month.
The ruling covered the sale of citizenship and nothing else. Residency by investment remains lawful, and naturalisation rules remain a matter for each country. What survives is a two step model: investment opens residency, and residency maintained on each country’s terms can in time lead to eligibility for citizenship. That is why the timelines are worth comparing so carefully.
Permanent residence along the way
For some families the five year mark matters more than the ten. After five years of legal residence, Golden Visa holders can apply for permanent residence, subject to its own conditions including Portuguese at A2. The 2026 law did not change that milestone, and for families whose priority is the right to stay rather than a passport, it may be the real destination. Our guide to permanent residency versus citizenship sets out the choice.
Where to start
The timeline is one input among several, alongside cost, schooling, tax and how much of each year you can realistically spend in the country. If you are comparing, a short conversation usually saves weeks of reading. You are welcome to get in touch, with no obligation, and we will talk through how these timelines apply to your family.
Elite Golden Visa provides immigration consultancy services. We do not provide financial or legal advice. All legal services are delivered by independent, qualified immigration lawyers. All investment decisions should be made with independent financial advice.
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or an offer to invest. Any investment carries risk, including the potential loss of capital. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
