Out of the 28,800 applications made since 2023, 12,844 were filed by Brazilian nationals, according to data from the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN), as reported by EU Helpers.
Around 5,160, or 18%, of all requests were based on the attribution of nationality to residents who were born outside of Portugal and to children of Portuguese parents; the remaining 7,555, or 26%, of requests were based on the requirement that the applicant have been a legal resident of the nation for a minimum of five years.
Furthermore, 4,682 of the applications were based on naturalization via marriage, while 4,878 were submitted by the grandchildren of Portuguese citizens. In 2023, 11.6% of all applicants for Portuguese citizenship were Sephardic Jews from Portugal.
With 3,922 applications, Cabo Verdeans rank second among nationality groups to obtain Portuguese nationality, after Angolans (1,937) and Ukrainians (3,249).
Moreover, 5,918 applications for Portuguese nationality were filed in January 2023, which was the greatest number ever recorded. Only the application rates reported in October 2022 (6,132) are greater than this, making this the second-highest record number of requests in the previous two years. However, the number of applications for nationality filed in December (1,747) was the lowest of the year and decreased by 51% from 2022 levels.
In addition, around 79 applications were submitted by citizens of the nation's former colonies; this represents a 609 increase in applications over 2022.
There was just one rejection out of the two years' total applications, making it the lowest number ever. But in October 2023, two months earlier, 20 applications were turned down—the greatest number of turned down applications ever.
Since December 1, 2023, the "Online Nationality" platform has been completely operational, meaning that all requests have only been submitted online.
By eliminating about 10,000 in-person services from branches each month and lowering the number of paper orders received, this action relieved some of the strain on customer support.
As of last August, 17,162 people had signed up for the "Born Citizen with Citizen Card" project. Through this initiative, parents or legal guardians can register a newborn at the hospital where they were delivered and request the child's Citizen Card all in one go.