This contrasts with last week’s reports of a “rush” for Irish passports, by Britons looking to remain EU citizens.
Reuters reported last Monday that following the Brexit result, in the early hours of Friday 24 June, Ireland’s embassy and post offices in Northern Ireland received more than 4,000 enquiries, compared with the 200 normally received.
In Portugal, in comparison to 2013, when 12 Britons applied for Portuguese nationality, in 2014 just ten British nationals applied for Portuguese citizenship.
And last year, half of that number underwent the process of becoming naturalised; in 2015, five Britons became Portuguese nationals, a number that has, however, already been matched during the first five months of this year.
Two applications were made in January 2016, one in February, one in April and one in May – and it remains to be seen whether Brexit will have any influence on those figures.
The Portuguese Ministry for Justice, which oversees naturalisation processes, told The Portugal News that while it has no means of establishing whether there has been a rise in the number of Britons enquiring about how to obtain Portuguese citizenship in recent times, “so far there has been no rise in effective requests.”
The British Ambassador in Portugal told The Portugal News that the Embassy has received a large number of messages, including some specific requests seeking information on the matter, this past fortnight in the wake of Brexit, but not many.
Moreover, Ambassador Kirsty Hayes stressed that the Embassy is unable to offer advice on the subject of naturalisation, and enquirers should seek information from their local Conservatória do Registo Civil.
Under current Portuguese legislation, a person aged 18 or over may be naturalised as a Portuguese citizen after having legal residence in Portugal for more than six years.
Naturalisation requires the applicant to have “sufficient knowledge” of the Portuguese language and “effective links to the national community”.
Children aged under 18 may acquire Portuguese citizenship by declaration when a parent is naturalised, and future children of such Portuguese nationals will be considered Portuguese citizens by birth.
A naturalised Portuguese citizen only starts to be considered Portuguese once the process is complete. This includes sitting an exam, written and spoken, to prove language comprehension, skills, and knowledge of the country.
Figures from Portugal’s SEF immigration service suggest the number of British residents in Portugal is around 17,000, although estimates from the British Embassy suggest the real figure could be closer to 40,000.
More than half of those (possibly between 59 percent and 60 percent) are based in the Algarve.
Reflecting on the EU Referendum outcome, Ambassador Hayes said: “Obviously the result was historic and will entail significant changes not only to the UK but to the rest of the EU”, and added: “We’ve received a lot of enquiries in general about a number of matters, including residency, pensions, health care and the right to work.”
But, she emphasised “In the short term, nothing will change. Only once Article 50, which negotiates an EU exit, is triggered, will the process begin and that has yet to be invoked.”
She elaborated: “David Cameron made it very clear that [invoking Article 50] would be a decision for his successor, and we don’t expect a new Prime Minister until at least September. Even then, the procedure will take around two years to complete; in the meantime the UK remains a full member of the EU with all the rights and duties it entails. There will be no immediate changes.”
The Embassy is finalising dates for a series of ‘Outreach Sessions’ in the Algarve, where residents will be able to put forward their queries (see page 25).
A short video by Ambassador Hayes clarifying the current circumstances can also be found on the British Embassy in Portugal’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/britishembassylisbon.