Law 61/2025 Tracker: Portugal Citizenship Timeline Reform

Key Dates

What the Constitutional Court is Reviewing

1. Retroactivity: Whether applying the 10-year requirement to applicants who began the process under 5-year rules violates constitutional protections of "legitimate expectations"
2. Proportionality: Whether a blanket extension from 5 to 10 years is proportional or excessive
3. Discrimination: Whether the CPLP carve-out (7 years for lusophone nationals) creates unconstitutional discrimination
4. Transition provisions: Whether the law adequately protects applicants already in the system

Expected Timeline for Ruling: Constitutional Court decisions on legislative review typically take 6-18 months. A ruling could come as early as Q2 2026 or as late as Q4 2026.

Scenario A: Law Invalidated (Estimated 25-35% probability)

• Constitutional Court strikes down the 10-year extension
• 5-year pathway continues for all applicants
• Counting rule remains from application date
• Fund implication: All fund terms remain aligned; no liquidity mismatch

Scenario B: Law Upheld with Grandfathering (Estimated 40-50% probability)

• 10-year requirement applies to new applicants only
• Existing Golden Visa holders and pending applicants protected under 5-year rule
• Transition provisions clarified
• Fund implication: Existing investors safe; new investors need 10-year alignment

Scenario C: Full Implementation (Estimated 15-25% probability)

• 10-year requirement applies to all non-CPLP nationals
• Counting from permit issuance (not application date)
• No grandfathering
• Fund implication: Significant liquidity mismatch risk for funds with <10-year terms

Our Default Modeling Assumption: We default to the Proposed (10-year) scenario with ~18 months admin delay in our Fund Database. This is the conservative approach—we believe it's better to plan for the worst case and be pleasantly surprised than to market the 5-year dream and face disappointed investors.

Use our Fund Database Citizenship Path toggle to model any scenario yourself.

Beyond the headline 5→10 year change, Law 61/2025 contains a subtler but equally impactful provision: the counting rule change.

Current Rule (Favorable)
Your residency clock starts when you submit your application and pay processing fees. AIMA processing delays (18-24 months) do not extend your citizenship timeline.

Proposed Rule (Law 61/2025)
The clock starts when your first residence permit is issued. With current AIMA processing times of 18-24 months, this effectively adds ~2 years to your timeline.

Impact Calculation

The combined impact of 5→10 years AND the counting rule change is not just "5 extra years"—it's potentially 6-7 extra years when you factor in administrative delays.

What This Means for Fund Selection

A fund with a 7-year term that was perfectly aligned under the 5-year pathway now has a potential 4.5-year liquidity gap under the proposed 10-year, permit-date scenario. This is why our Fund Database flags alignment status—and why open-ended funds become significantly more attractive under the proposed law.

Law 61/2025 fundamentally changes which funds are "safe" for citizenship planning.

Under Current 5-Year Path
Nearly all funds in our database align with the citizenship timeline. Even 6-7 year funds provide sufficient coverage.

Under Proposed 10-Year Path (with admin delay)
Effective holding period: ~11.5-12 years. Only these fund types naturally align:

• Open-ended funds (Optimize, 3 Comma): No maturity constraint
• 10+ year closed-end funds (Indico, Lince, Pela Terra, Aim Forest, Biovance): Term matches or exceeds requirement
• 12-year funds (Aim Forest): Generous buffer

Funds with Potential Liquidity Mismatch
These funds would expire before the citizenship timeline under the proposed law:

• 7-year hospitality funds (Mercan, Lakeview)
• 8-year growth funds (BlueCrow, C2 Legacy, Saratoga, Ando Europe)

Reinvestment Risk
If your fund matures before you reach citizenship eligibility, you must:

1. Find another qualifying fund to maintain your investment
2. Pay new subscription/entry fees
3. Accept potential timing gaps in qualifying investment status
4. Bear the risk that available funds at reinvestment time may have worse terms

Recommendation: Use our Fund Database with the Citizenship Path set to "10yr (Proposed)" and admin delay set to "~18mo" to see which funds are aligned, borderline, or mismatched under the worst-case scenario.

If You Haven't Applied Yet

1. Apply as soon as feasible: Submitting your application before any implementation date gives you the strongest argument for grandfathering under current rules
2. Choose a 10-year or open-ended fund: This hedges against both scenarios. If the 5-year path holds, you can exit early (subject to fund terms). If the 10-year path materializes, your fund covers the full timeline.
3. Budget for the 10-year timeline: Model your TCO over 10+ years, not 7. Use our TCO Calculator to see the difference.

If You're Already in the System

1. Document your application date: Keep records of your application submission and fee payment receipts—these establish your starting date under the application-date counting rule
2. Assess your fund term alignment: If your current fund matures before 2035-2037, consider whether you need a reinvestment strategy
3. Monitor this page: We'll update as the Constitutional Court issues its ruling

For US Investors

The 10-year timeline makes PFIC compliance even more critical. Paying punitive PFIC taxes for 10 years instead of 5 significantly amplifies the cost difference between QEF-compliant and non-compliant funds. Filter for PFIC-compliant funds and model your total tax exposure over the full holding period.