Portugal has 690,000 citizenship applications stuck

690,000 citizenship applications are waiting at Portugal’s registry office. It’s Thursday, 22 October. Twenty degrees. Air quality: 6 to 20 (Good). Here’s what you need to know.

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690,000 CITIZENSHIP APPLICATIONS ARE STUCK IN THE QUEUE

The IRN, the Institute of Registries and Notaries, had 690,480 citizenship applications waiting to be processed at the end of June, 38% more than a year earlier, when around half a million were pending. The figures come from the Ministry of Justice and were reported yesterday by the newspaper Público.

Applications based on living in Portugal make up only a small part of the queue. Just 26% come from immigrants in Portugal applying on the strength of their legal residence. Another 23% are from descendants of Sephardic Jews, a route closed to new applicants in May. Around 11% are grandchildren of Portuguese citizens born abroad, and about 10% are children born abroad.

That mix matters, because residence-based applications aren’t at the front of the line. The IRN says it gives priority to applications for children of Portuguese descent, filed through consulates or online, because these recognise a right to citizenship that exists from birth. The ministry partly links that priority to the fall in citizenship granted through residence, marriage and other routes.

The rules have also changed for anyone applying now. Since 19 May, citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries and the EU need seven years of legal residence to apply, and everyone else needs ten, up from five for all. The clock now starts when a residence card is issued, not when the application for it was made. Great-grandchildren of Portuguese citizens who have lived legally in Portugal for five years get a shorter route. For a child born in Portugal to foreign parents, one parent now needs five years of legal residence, up from one.

If you applied before 19 May, your case is still judged under the old rules, however long it takes to reach a desk. The registry workers’ union has criticised the delays and wants a recovery plan that brings in more staff.

Bottom line: Only one in four applications in the queue is based on living in Portugal, and anyone who hasn’t applied yet now needs seven to ten years of legal residence before they can.

⚡ QUICK HITS

Lisbon’s shared e-scooters will be off the streets by the end of the year. The city council approved the suspension yesterday. Operators now have 60 days to stop running and remove every scooter, and the council can take them away itself if they miss the deadline. The Liberal Initiative, part of Mayor Carlos Moedas’s own coalition, voted against alongside Livre, the left-wing party, while the Socialists, Left Bloc and Communists abstained. The council says it is following Paris, Madrid and Brussels, and plans to draft new rules for scooters and other light vehicles within a year. The Gira bike-share scheme is staying.

Housing protesters were called back to Rossio with tents last night, despite a government warning. Earlier in the day, the internal administration minister, Luís Neves, said the PSP, the Public Security Police, would act pre-emptively and not allow the tents to go back up, while stressing that the right to protest remains. In court, the hearing for the 55 people detained on Tuesday was postponed to next Tuesday, 27 October, after 25 of them turned up yesterday morning. The movement is holding an assembly in Rossio every evening at 7pm, while protests in Porto are paused until Saturday.

Lisbon’s Metro and CP, the national rail operator, will both be hit by strikes on Friday 30 October. Metro workers are striking from 5am to 10am on Wednesday 28 and Friday 30 October. With trains normally starting at 6:30am, that could mean no service until mid-morning. The Metro has asked the arbitration tribunal to set minimum services, but none were set for the last strike. On the 30th, a union representing CP’s on-train ticket staff is also striking, and CP warns of disruption the day before and after too. Passengers with tickets for those dates can get a refund or switch to another train through CP’s website, app or ticket offices.

Downtown Golf Academy - Lisbon’s First Indoor Golf Club

Lisbon has great golf on its doorstep, but getting a round in usually takes a car, a free morning and decent weather. Downtown Golf Academy brings the game into the city. It’s on Avenida Marconi, just off Campo Pequeno, and it’s Lisbon’s first indoor golf club.

There are seven bays, each fitted with TrackMan iO, the same launch-monitor technology tour professionals and coaches use. You can play hundreds of famous courses, warm up on a virtual driving range or pick games built for groups. Every shot is measured, from ball speed and launch angle to carry and spin, so you know exactly what happened and why. Each bay takes up to four players, and clubs and balls are provided, so you just turn up.

It works whatever your level. Regular golfers use it to keep their game sharp between rounds or to fit in a session after work. Complete beginners come for a fun hour with friends. If you want to take it further, small-group beginner programmes take you from your first grip to your first round on a real course, and private lessons for improvers come with TrackMan data on every shot.

When you’re done, there’s a sports bar and kitchen with food, drinks and the big games on screen.

Lisbon Letter readers get an exclusive offer: 50% off their first hour on weekday bookings before 5pm, for up to four players in a bay. It’s for first bookings only and runs until 5 December. Just mention LISBONLETTER when you book on WhatsApp.

→ Book on WhatsApp and mention LISBONLETTER ←

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🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

SUBMERSO (PARQUE DAS NAÇÕES)

For a decade, the space at the back of the Oceanário sat empty. In July it reopened as Submerso, a restaurant from the SushiCafé group with floor-to-ceiling windows looking straight out over the Tagus. The kitchen is led by chef José Barros, who also heads the aquarium’s Zafra and Sea the Future. The idea is Portuguese cooking and the flavours that travelled with it, made with fresh, seasonal produce from Portugal.

Almost everything is built for sharing. Start with roast chouriço or confit sardines on broa, the dense cornbread, peixinhos da horta, Portugal’s battered green beans, and a fresh octopus salad. Then move on to pica-pau, small strips of beef in sauce, a creamy beef tartare, or bacalhau à Brás, salt cod with eggs and fine fried potatoes, which works as a starter or a main. The bigger plates include octopus rice and pork belly with capers and pepper sauce. Most plates cost between €6 and €16, and a pastel de nata to finish is €2.

Worth knowing before you go: it’s open to everyone, not just aquarium visitors. There are around 70 seats inside and 12 at a counter overlooking the kitchen. It’s open every day from noon to 7pm, so it works best as a long lunch. Check live hours if you’re planning an evening visit.

→ Find them here ←

Insider tip: order the chocolate mousse and stir it before your first spoonful. That’s how the kitchen wantes it to be eaten.

📅 WHAT’S ON

See you tomorrow morning.

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