On 29 July, the seventh amendment to the Portuguese Nationality Act (Law 37/81, of 3 October, consolidated version, as amended by Organic Law 2/2006, of 17 April - in English), which grants Portuguese citizenship to persons born abroad and who are second-degree descendants of Portuguese citizens, was published. The present amendment has retroactive effects, meaning that this new provision will also be applied to the grandchildren of Portuguese nationals who were born abroad and have not lost their citizenship, before the entry into force of the new Act.

Citizenship can be granted if the following additional requirements are met:

1. Declaration of the intention to become Portuguese
2. Existence of effective ties to the national community, demonstrated by:

• Sufficient knowledge of the Portuguese language,
• Regular contact with Portuguese territory,
• Absence of any judicial conviction for the practice of a crime punishable under Portuguese law, with imprisonment for 3 years or more

The law 9/2015 was approved by the Parliament on 29 May 2015, promulgated by the President on 16 July 2015 and published in the Portuguese portal (Diário da República) on 29 July 2015.

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