If You Have One of These Last Names, You Could Apply for Portuguese Citizenship

Have you ever wondered where your ancestors came from? Perhaps one of them belonged to another country and you have no idea. For this reason, in 2015, Portugal enacted a law allowing Sephardic Jews to obtain Portuguese citizenship under certain requirements, and your last names could be essential. Below, we explain how to acquire this nationality.

But first, it might be helpful to explain what Sephardic means. The term Sephardic describes the Jewish people who lived in the Iberian Peninsula until 1492 and all their descendants. Both Spain and Portugal have attempted to rectify the historical memory of those Jewish communities that were expelled from their territories. Anyone who can prove their ancestry might obtain Portuguese nationality.

The vast majority of Sephardic descendants from Spain are also considered descendants from Portugal, as many of them took refuge in the neighboring country after being expelled in 1496. Therefore, this change in the 2015 legislation aims to acknowledge these inhabitants' right to nationality. Recent data indicates that the Portuguese government has already received 51,000 requests for Portuguese nationality.

In February 2020, according to a statement from the director of the Central Services Office of the Institute of Registries and Notaries, Portuguese nationality had been granted to around 17,000 people. This is a significant advantage for all of them, as they will have no impediments or need for a passport to travel or work in any of the 27 countries of the European Union.

The first requirement to apply for Portuguese nationality is to be at least 18 years old, and the second is to obtain a certificate of Sephardism from the Jewish Community of Porto or Lisbon. With these two basic requirements, you can initiate the process at the Ministry of Justice in Lisbon. At this location, you will need to provide a criminal record certificate from all countries where you have resided for at least 3 months, your family book, a notarized photocopy of all pages of your passport, a certificate of Sephardism and Jewish identity, and your birth certificate. To complete this process, it is not necessary to know Portuguese or take an exam on the country's knowledge.

Although last names may vary or be lost through generations, there is a list of common last names that can help guide you and encourage you to research your roots if you are interested in acquiring Portuguese nationality. Here are some of the most common last names: Abrantes, Aguilar, Andrade, Brandão, Brito, Bueno, Cardoso, Carvalho, Castro, Costa, Coutinho, Dourado, Fonseca, Furtado, Gomes, Gouveia, Granjo, Henriques, Lara, Marques, Melo, Prado, Mesquita, Mendes, Neto, Nunes, Pereira, Pinheiro, Rodrigues, Rosa, Sarmento, Silva, Soares, Teixeira, and Teles.