Children of Either Portuguese Parent, Born in the Portuguese Territory

Source: cafeprees.com

Now, that we know who is entitled to the citizenship, the types of citizenship, the procedures through which someone can obtain it and the effects of such procedures, we will now analyse case by case of those who are entitled to the Portuguese citizenship.

The Article 1, 1, (a) of the Nationality Act and the Article 3, (a) of the Portuguese Nationality Statute establish that “the children of either Portuguese parents, born in the Portuguese territory” are native Portuguese citizens.

This is, indeed, the most straightforward case of all, in which a child of a Portuguese couple or of a couple formed by at least one Portuguese citizen is born in Portugal, Azores or Madeira.

The Portuguese Civil Registration Code, on its Article 96, establishes that the births occurred in the Portuguese territory must be verbally communicated to a “Conservatória do Registo Civil” – Portuguese Civil Register Office, within 20 days of the birth, or at the hospital or maternity in which the birth took place, if the hospital/maternity has this service available, until the date mother and child are discharged from there.

The Registration Code also establishes that the parents are the ones who should communicate the birth of the child to the Portuguese Civil Register Office. Only in their absence is that a third person or entity can make such declaration.

So, every child that is born in the Portuguese territory to a Portuguese parent will grant his/her citizenship in the moment the parent register his/her birth in the Portuguese Civil Register Office. And this is it, nothing further must be done.

But this does not mean that exceptions cannot take place and that something that seems to be so straightforward cannot become complicated.

For example: the case of the children of Portuguese citizens born in the Portuguese territory that, later on, have stopped being a Portuguese territory. This we will talk about further on.

Summing up:

Case: children of either Portuguese parent, born in the Portuguese territory;

Type of citizenship: Original Citizenship;

Procedure indicated: Registration of Birth.

Larissa Bona