Portugalist - The Moving to Portugal Podcast

Is Moving to Portugal Still Worth It?

James

Portugal has just doubled its citizenship residency requirement—from 5 years to 10. So what does this actually mean for you? And is Portugal still worth considering as a place to live, retire, or base yourself in Europe?

In October 2025, Portugal’s parliament approved an increase in the residency requirement for citizenship: 10 years for most applicants, and 7 years for those from Portuguese-speaking countries (and the EU). It’s a major shift, but the real impact depends entirely on your circumstances.

In this episode, we break down what the changes mean for:

 ✅ Full-time residents on D7 or Digital Nomad visas
 ✅ Anyone whose main goal was an EU passport
 ✅ Workers planning to eventually move to higher-wage EU countries
 ✅ Families relocating with children
 ✅ Golden Visa investors

The bottom line? If you're moving to Portugal because you genuinely want to live there, not much has changed. But if you were relying on Portugal’s previous 5-year path to EU citizenship, you may need to rethink your strategy—especially since other countries with faster citizenship timelines may not offer residency visas that are as accessible or realistic as Portugal’s.

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