The Nationality Law names six subjects in two sub-paragraphs of Article 6; leaving out language, five civic themes remain.
- Sub-paragraph (c) of Article 6 requires proof, by test or by certificate, of knowledge of the Portuguese language and culture, history and national symbols.
- Sub-paragraph (d), added by Organic Law 1/2026, requires knowledge of the fundamental rights and duties inherent in nationality and of the political organisation of the State.
- The official text appeared in the Diário da República, series I, no. 95, of 18 May 2026, which republishes Law 37/81 as an annex.
- Sub-paragraph (c) names four subjects and (d) names two, six in all. Language is proved separately, which leaves five civic themes.
Source: Lei da Nacionalidade (Lei n.º 37/81), artigo 6.º
Until 18 May 2026 the law required only knowledge of the Portuguese language; the five civic themes are new.
- Under the wording of Organic Law 1/2024, sub-paragraph (c) was a single line: sufficient knowledge of the Portuguese language.
- That was the whole knowledge requirement: no culture, no history, no symbols, no rights and duties, no organisation of the State.
- The old sub-paragraph (d) dealt with criminal records, not with civic subject matter.
- The five civic themes entered the Nationality Law on 18 May 2026, through Organic Law 1/2026.
Source: Lei da Nacionalidade (Lei n.º 37/81), artigo 6.º
Three of the five themes have set articles in the Constitution; history and culture have no instrument defining them.
- Article 11 of the Constitution is titled National symbols and official language, and covers the flag, the anthem and the language in three short paragraphs.
- Fundamental rights and duties is the title of Part I of the Constitution, which runs from Article 12 to Article 79, nearly 70 articles.
- The political organisation of the State starts at Article 108 and covers the organs of sovereignty, what each one does, and the autonomous regions.
- No legal instrument defines what history means for this purpose: no period, no list of dates, no reference work.
- The Constitution mentions culture in its article on cultural participation, but to impose duties on the State, not to say what Portuguese culture is.
Source: Constituição da República Portuguesa, artigos 11.º, 12.º a 79.º e 108.º
The Government had 90 days to amend the Portuguese Nationality Regulation; the deadline ran out on 16 August 2026 with no new regulation.
- Article 4 of Organic Law 1/2026 gives the Government 90 days from the law's publication to amend the Portuguese Nationality Regulation.
- That Regulation was approved as an annex to Decree-Law 237-A/2006 of 14 December.
- The 90 days counted from 18 May 2026 ran out on 16 August 2026, with no regulation published and no new date set.
- The provision sets the deadline and attaches no consequence to missing it.
- The Regulation still has a single article about proving knowledge, titled Proof of residence and of knowledge of the Portuguese language.
Source: Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026, de 18 de maio, artigo 4.º
The law separates language from the rest of sub-paragraph (c) and already recognises several ways of proving it.
- The Nationality Law presumes that nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries meet the requirement of the first part of sub-paragraph (c), that is, language.
- That presumption does not cover the whole of sub-paragraph (c): the law treats language separately from culture, history and symbols.
- Language already has several accepted forms of proof: school certificates, the CIPLE, and a test sat in the state school network.
- The test sat in the state school network is governed by Portaria 176/2014 and is currently run by IAVE.
- The five civic themes have none of these forms of proof yet.
Source: Portaria n.º 176/2014
Sub-paragraph (c) names a method of proof and (d) names none, and the waiver for services to the State covers only (c).
- Sub-paragraph (c) says applicants must prove their knowledge by test or by certificate; (d) says only that they must know it sufficiently, naming no method of proof.
- The same law allows waiving, for people who have rendered relevant services to the Portuguese State, the requirements of sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) of paragraph 1.
- Sub-paragraph (b) is residence and (c) is language plus culture, history and symbols.
- Sub-paragraph (d) is not included in that waiver.
Source: Lei da Nacionalidade (Lei n.º 37/81), artigo 6.º
The themes are written into the naturalisation article, but other routes in the Nationality Law point back to it.
- The five themes are written into the naturalisation article of the Nationality Law.
- A provision of the same law makes attribution of nationality under sub-paragraph (d) conditional on the requirements of sub-paragraphs (c) to (h) of the naturalisation article.
- So an original nationality route now carries this subject matter too, not only naturalisation, which is an acquisition route.
- The same logic applies to stateless applicants.
Source: Lei da Nacionalidade (Lei n.º 37/81), artigo 1.º