Organic Law No. 2/2018 was published on 5 July 2018. It
introduces new amendments to Law no. 37/81 of 3 October and, in
certain situations, it makes it easier to obtain nationality by
origin or by naturalisation. The main changes are summarised
below.
a) Children of foreigners born in Portuguese territory
The new law establishes that the children of foreigners born in
Portuguese territory (when the parents are not in the service of
their home state), are considered Portuguese by origin, provided
that one of the parents has been residing legally in Portugal for
at least 2 years. This contrasts with the 5 years that were
previously necessary. This rule does not apply if there is an
express declaration against acquiring Portuguese nationality by
origin.
