PROPOSED AMENDMENT

PROPOSED AMENDMENT
"Article 6
(…)
7- The Government may grant nationality by naturalization, with no need for requirements set out in paragraphs b) and c) of paragraph 1, to the descendants of Sephardic Jews Portuguese, by demonstrating the tradition of belonging to a community Sephardic of Portuguese origin, based on proven objective requirements of connection to Portugal, namely surnames, family language, direct descent or
collateral and have legally resided in Portugal for a period of 2 years.
(…)
Article ___
Transitional provision
The requirement of legal residence provided for in paragraph 7 of article 6 of Law no. 37/81, of 3 October, as amended by the present law, applies to orders received from the 1st of January 2022. ”
JUSTIFICATION:
Bearing in mind that Portugal is the only country with this naturalization regime foreigners based only on their offspring, albeit distant, from
Sephardic Jews who were expelled many centuries ago from the Iberian Peninsula, is necessary, in the name of the principle of effective nationality and collective interest not transform Portuguese nationality into a tradable asset. Approximately 4,000 naturalization applications have been filed and according to information from the Israeli community in Lisbon, the growth of requests for information from large law firms has increased a lot). Growth also increases exponential increase in requests for naturalization of children (Article 2) and spouses (Article
3) of citizens, mainly Israelis and Turks, who obtained naturalization
Portuguese, and almost all naturalized people do not live or have connections to Portugal.
It can also be seen that the current regime boosted the creation of companies that “sell” with aggressive advertising in Israel or Turkey to
Portuguese nationality as a way of acquiring advantages inherent to the possession of an EU passport (visa waivers for most states, in particular the USA, and right of residence in any EU Member State), thus distorting the intention of the Portuguese legislator and the function of any nationality law - that of translating into legal terms the connection that exists between an individual and the Portuguese State. For another On the other hand, under international law, the lack of an effective link to the Country of nationality legitimizes other states not to recognize that nationality, which can harm Portuguese people abroad, including in the European Union. Being certain that also in accordance with the duty of loyal cooperation enshrined in the Treaty, the European citizenship and the rights recognized by the DUE to national citizens,
presupposes that Portugal assigns its nationality to those with the country and, therefore, with the EU an effective connection and not merely one of convenience.
The questions that the application of the current wording in Article 6 (7) raise were shared by the Israeli communities of Lisbon and Porto, even having the first demonstrating its concern with the transformation of this process into a business.
For what has just been said, the need to demand from descendants of Sephardic Jews any relevant connection with the country and the
national community, proposing that this materialize in the requirement of a period of residence in national territory. This will allow them to access nationality in this way those foreign descendants who want to have with the national community a connection and not just those wishing to obtain an advantageous passport. Do not stop frustrate legitimate expectations, a transitional period is proposed in which the regime in force will continue to apply