# QUITE a few questions on obtaining nationality through descent



## TBjockNY (Jan 9, 2012)

Hello,

I spoke to the Consulate in New York ( where I live. my father would goto the New Jersey one ), and I was told that my father can obtain his Portugese nationality, and then once he gets his, I can get mine.

BUT, here are my questions:

*my grandfather-* born in Madeira to Portugese parents, immigrated to US in 1950 after marrying.
*my grandmother*-born in NY to Portuguese father/US mother, but raised in Madeira from 3 yrs old, until she married grandfather in Madeira, and immigrated back to US.

My grandfather became a US citizen sometime in the mid-50s, but I do not know if he renounced his Portuguese nationality in front of an official; if he only told a US official he was renouncing it, does that count?

My father- born in Newark, New Jersey. I was also born in Newark, New Jersey. my parents were NOT married.

My grandfather maintained contact with Portugal; he visited a few times until he became ill. He is still alive, my grandmother died in 2002.

About ME: US born citizen, 24 years old. I do NOT speak a word of Portuguese, although I am about to begin courses.

*My Questions:*

-How do I find out if my grandfather is registered in Portugal?

-If he does not have any recent documents from Portugal, will that be a problem? Would I just need his naturalization papers, marriage certificate, etc?

-My father speaks and writes Portuguese fluently; however I do not. Will they reject me because of that?

-Does anyone know where I could find out how to obtain my grandfather & grandmother's marriage certificate from Madeira?

-What documents of my grandfather and grandmothers will I need to provide, as far as Portuguese documentation?

Here is what I do have:
-all of my relevant information (employment, birth certificate,etc)
-my father's birth certificate, and my mother's birth certificate
-my grandfather and my grandmother's birth certificate

I do not know if my grandfather has a up to date Portuguese passport.


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## anapedrosa (Mar 21, 2011)

Hi,

I can't answer all of your questions, but I can share a bit of my story that is I think relevant to you.

I was born in Canada.
I speak basic Portuguese.
My parents, born in Portugal, renounced their Portuguese citizenship (after my birth).
My parents had registered my birth in Portugal when I was born.

When I went through the process of getting my citizenship, my ability (or lack of) to speak Portuguese or my parents current citizenship was not even raised as a point. 

The one thing he did say was that my parents had saved me a lot of trouble by registering my birth in Portugal. 

Good luck, although the process takes a while, I found it well worth my while. 
You might want to search on this site, there is quite a long thread by people with various experiences obtaining their citizenship, including a few folks from the US as I recall.


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## Sonho (Jan 1, 2008)

I have just done all of this and I have your answers, but I don't have the time now. I will pop back in tomorrow with the info. In short, I received my passport last summer. Grandparents were born in Madeira also and went to Mass in the early 1920s. Your father doesn't need his nationality for you to get yours. More in a bit.


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## Sonho (Jan 1, 2008)

TBjockNY said:


> Hello,
> 
> I spoke to the Consulate in New York ( where I live. my father would goto the New Jersey one ), and I was told that my father can obtain his Portugese nationality, and then once he gets his, I can get mine.
> 
> ...


OK, you are making this harder than it needs to be. 
What you need to do is prove that your grandfather was born in Madeira. To do that, you can hunt downhis birth certificate or baptismal certificate. Contact the ARchivo Regional Madeira. Email is [email protected] Their telephone number is 291708400 with country code 351 (I guess...). I worked with the Director Maria Fatima A. Barros Ferreira. If you can provide the city your Grandfather was born in that will make life easier. 
You will also need:

Apostilled copies of your birth certificate and your father's birth certificate. Do a google search by the birth state and apostilled birth certificate.
An FBI official (with fingerprints) statement of no criminal activity. If you have lived in other countries as an adult, you will need one from each country.
 Proof that you can speak the language. I took a written test while in PT. It was easy and took about 30 minutes. My PT is very, very rough. Take a class and you should have no problem. In the US, they still may not reject you though.

It doesn't matter if your g-father rejected his PT citizenship. You can still claim nationality by proving your grandfather was born in Madeira and they keep good records. Heck, my grandfather was born in 1902 and they found him.  Also, marriage doesn't matter. Finally, all of these documents will need to be translated into PT.

Anyway, good luck.


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## TBjockNY (Jan 9, 2012)

thank you both SO much for your replies; I really appreciate it! It is much easier, isn't it?! Can I ask, did either one of you have to have residency in Portugal, or did they give you citizenship without residency requirements?


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## anapedrosa (Mar 21, 2011)

I did not have residency in Portugal, it had not impact on my right to citizenship.


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