A group of nine Portuguese law firms has filed a formal complaint with the country’s Ombudsman (Provedoria de Justiça). The complaint was filed on June 26, 2026, on behalf of 1,260 Portugal Golden Visa investors.
These investors state that the government’s new nationality law has unfairly hurt them. They blame years of processing delays inside the country’s immigration agency, AIMA, for trapping them under the strict new rules.
What Changed in the New Law?
Portugal’s new nationality law (Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026) officially entered into force on May 19, 2026. This law made two massive changes to how foreigners get a Portuguese passport:
- Time Doubled: Most foreign nationals now need 10 years of legal residence in Portugal before they can apply for citizenship. Previously, the requirement was only 5 years.
- The Residency Clock: Under the old rules, the time spent waiting for a visa approval counted toward citizenship. Under the new law, the time only starts counting from the date the physical residence card is issued.
The new law only protects investors who already submitted their final citizenship applications on or before May 18, 2026. Anyone who did not reach that step before the cutoff must follow the new 10-year rule.
Why Agency Delays Are the Main Problem
By law, Portuguese authorities must decide on Golden Visa applications within 90 days. However, in reality, thousands of investors have waited three to five years just to get their physical cards. Some have been waiting since 2021.
Because an investor cannot apply for citizenship without a valid residence card, these agency delays stopped the 1,260 investors from filing before the May 18 cutoff.
Lawyers argue that investors who followed every rule, paid high fees, and transferred millions of euros should not lose years of residency credit just because the government’s own agency failed to meet its legal deadlines.
What Can the Ombudsman Do?
The Ombudsman is an independent government body that investigates complaints against public administration. While the Ombudsman cannot change the law or issue binding court orders, it holds one very important power: it can refer the law to the Constitutional Court to check if it violates the constitution.
This referral is the main goal of the law firms, who are also preparing a large collective lawsuit against the Portuguese state.
The Government's Position
So far, the Portuguese government has refused to change its mind. Government ministers have publicly argued that migration consultants misled clients about how fast they could get citizenship.
However, lawyers have rejected this claim. They point out that the government itself promised that all pending investor residence cards would be issued by 2026, a promise that has not been kept.
Currently, the Golden Visa program remains open and active for new applicants. However, for existing investors, these new legal fights will decide if the years they spent waiting under the old rules will count toward their citizenship path, or if they must wait a full decade for a passport.
