# Portuguese Citizenship



## jorge123 (May 12, 2015)

I have been looking on the site but have not found the answer to this. Maybe I missed it.

I am a naturalized us citizen born in Argentina but grew up in Portugal. Both parents Portuguese citizens. I have my NIF number. What would the procedure be to get Portuguese citizenship. 

I seem to remember that growing up I had a Portuguese ID Card.

Because I was born in Argentina I was a citizen there. When I was 18 and they had that little disagreement with the UK I was invited (LOL ) but refused, becoming a US citizen instead.


----------



## Naaling (Apr 9, 2015)

Hi Jorge
If both of your parents are Portuguese, then you are already Portuguese by decent, so there's no need to get Portuguese citizenship - you already have it. What you need to do is establish the facts, and the easiest way to do that is to apply for a Portuguese passport.


----------



## jorge123 (May 12, 2015)

Oh ok that's good news. Thank you .


----------



## azoreseuropa (Nov 10, 2013)

Naaling said:


> Hi Jorge
> If both of your parents are Portuguese, then you are already Portuguese by decent, so there's no need to get Portuguese citizenship - you already have it. What you need to do is establish the facts, and the easiest way to do that is to apply for a Portuguese passport.



Hi. Why apply for a Portuguese passport ? He already have both dual citizenship so he can fly to Portugal by using American Passport. Correct me if I am wrong ? 

By the way, I have both American Passport and Portuguese Passport but I used American Passport to fly to Portugal to visited my families and friends. No problem for me.


----------



## Naaling (Apr 9, 2015)

Hi
I have dual nationality. British and Australian and both passports.However, as an Australian citizen I am required under Australian law to enter and leave Australia on my Australian passport. I assumed other countries have similar laws.
If you enter Portugal on a US passport then you are limited to the conditions of that passport and can only stay 3 months at a time, unless you can establish your Portuguese citizenship. The easiest way to do that would be with a Portuguese passport,


----------



## oronero (Aug 24, 2012)

jorge123 said:


> I have been looking on the site but have not found the answer to this. Maybe I missed it.
> 
> I am a naturalized us citizen born in Argentina but grew up in Portugal. Both parents Portuguese citizens. I have my NIF number. What would the procedure be to get Portuguese citizenship.
> 
> ...


 I had a similar background to yours, Portuguese parents but I was born abroad.

All I had, Portuguese documents wise, was an 'Assento De Nascimento' and a 'Cedula Pessoal', both which were done in 1994 from a UK birth certificate.

Last week I walked into a Portuguese Financas office with these documents and was given a 'contribuinte number'. 

I then went to the local IRN office with all three documents and with my British passport I was given a 'Cartao de Cidadao' card in exchange for 20Euros. 

The card will be forwarded to one of the Consulates in the UK for me to collect as I am resident in the UK. 

The whole process was done in a morning and was very straightforward.


----------



## jorge123 (May 12, 2015)

WOW sounds very easy and straightforward. Thank you for the information.


----------



## oronero (Aug 24, 2012)

I guess if I had been resident in Portugal the 'Cartao de Cidadao' could have been collected there or posted to a Portuguese address.


----------



## TonyJ1 (May 20, 2014)

oronero said:


> I had a similar background to yours, Portuguese parents but I was born abroad.
> 
> All I had, Portuguese documents wise, was an 'Assento De Nascimento' and a 'Cedula Pessoal', both which were done in 1994 from a UK birth certificate.
> 
> ...


If your birth has not as yet been registered in Portugal, you will need to have this done beforehand. For this you will need an unabridged birth certificate (with parents names etc thereon) and it must be legalised - either at a Portuguese Consulate or with the Hague Apostille. After the birth is registered than you can apply for id / passports etc


----------



## oronero (Aug 24, 2012)

TonyJ1 said:


> If your birth has not as yet been registered in Portugal, you will need to have this done beforehand. For this you will need an unabridged birth certificate (with parents names etc thereon) and it must be legalised - either at a Portuguese Consulate or with the Hague Apostille. After the birth is registered than you can apply for id / passports etc


My 'Assento De Nascimento' and 'Cedula Pessoal' were handled by the Consulate services in London who got me to have my British 'Birth Certificate' translated into Portuguese by one of their recommended services back in 1994. UK Birth Certificates name both parents.

Upon having this done and sent to the Consulate services in 1994 my birth was registered, all rather easy and no need for solicitors.


----------



## anapedrosa (Mar 21, 2011)

I suggest you contact your local Portuguese consulate with all the records you have available. I was able to get both my passport and cartão de cidadão at the consulate in Canada.

In terms of why get a Portuguese passport, while you don't need one to get into and stay in the country (unlike Australia), it is a useful document if you are here. Not essential, but wonderful to travel in the EU, shorter lines at the airports is a good reason.


----------



## Naaling (Apr 9, 2015)

I don't want to get involved in an argument, but, while researching this topic, I found the following website.

stylehiclub.com/tips-general-travel/frequently-asked-questions-traveling-with-two-passports/]FAQ[/url] About Traveling with Two Passports

And the following quote from that site.

Question #1: “Can I enter a country I am a citizen of without using its passport?”

No, this is basically illegal and should not be done. Even if one of your passports is expired, that doesn’t mean you can just use the other one. That’s misrepresenting yourself to your country’s authorities.


----------



## anapedrosa (Mar 21, 2011)

Interesting, I have never heard of this and since as a Portuguese citizen I entered and left Portugal for 40+ years before I even got a passport this appears over the top. In Canada it was only in recent history that we needed passports to get in and out of the US and in Europe we drive through all sorts of country borders without showing our passports. I would like to see a legal reference applicable in Europe (though I may simply ask at customs next time I travel).

There are some recommendations on that site and others that make sense. When entering a country not of your citizenship use the same passport to enter and exit. This makes sense so that the country knows you left and it does not appear that you over stayed without a proper visa. Personally I use my Canadian Passport to enter Canada and Portuguese Passport to enter Portugal because it is easier, but it also makes sense since both countries require visas and a stay over 3 months requires a visa.


----------



## Naaling (Apr 9, 2015)

Later this year I will be travelling to Portugal on my Australian passport, because I am currently using that passport in Thailand, but I will want to enter Portugal using my British passport. Maybe as a European citizen I have to use it!. I think the easiest thing to do is present both passports to Portuguese immigration and let them sort it out.


----------



## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

Don't confuse them!!! Use your British one then no visas no problems as you are an EU citizen with right of entry into Portugal


----------



## Naaling (Apr 9, 2015)

I think you're right. Use the British passport, but have the Australian one handy in case its needed. I also just realised that we will probably pass through European immigration in Zurich, since the Zurich to Lisbon leg will be an internal flight. so no need to deal with Portuguese immigration anyway.


----------

