Portuguese citizenship in 2026: the language and culture test under the new nationality law

Article 6(1) of the Nationality Law, as republished, lists the conditions for naturalisation. Two of them are about residence and knowledge:

Residence (b): at least seven years of legal residence for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU citizens, ten years for nationals of other countries. Before 19 May 2026 the law asked for five.

Language and culture (c): proof, by test or certificate, of sufficient knowledge of the Portuguese language and culture, history and national symbols.

Rights and the State (d): sufficient knowledge of the fundamental rights and duties of Portuguese nationality and of how the Portuguese State is organised. (e): a solemn declaration of adherence to the principles of a democratic State under the rule of law.

The other conditions are adulthood, no prison sentence of more than 3 years for the serious crimes listed in (f), no threat to national security, no UN or EU restrictive measures, and the means to support yourself (i).

Under article 15(3), periods of residence can be added together only if they fall within a maximum interval of 6, 9 or 12 years (stateless people, Portuguese-speaking and EU nationals, others).

Article 7(2) of Lei Orgânica 1/2026: procedures already pending when it came into force are decided under the Nationality Law as it stood before. The new residence periods and the wider test apply to applications made from 19 May 2026.

The Regulation, in its consolidated text, lists the accepted ways to prove Portuguese (article 25(2)):

(a) a school certificate showing you passed Portuguese, or Portuguese as a non-native language, in at least two school years, at a recognised school;

(b) a pass in the Portuguese language test (prova de língua portuguesa) held at public schools in Portugal, or at places accredited by Camões abroad;

(c) a certificate of Portuguese as a foreign language from a test at an assessment centre recognised by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education. CAPLE's CIPLE is its A2 certificate: see Portuguese exams explained;

(d) a certificate of A2 or higher from a public school or an IEFP employment and training centre (Portaria 1262/2009);

(e) a Português Língua de Acolhimento course certificate at A2 or higher (Portaria 183/2020);

(f) a qualifications certificate showing at least 100 hours of Portuguese units in a double-certification course.

Portaria 176/2014 sets the level for the test in (b): A2 of the CEFR is sufficient knowledge.

Three parts: reading comprehension, written expression and listening comprehension. 75 minutes.

Pass mark: scored 0–100; 50% or more is Aprovado. Results within 30 working days, and the Ministry of Education issues a digitally validated certificate.

Oral only (15 minutes) for candidates aged 60 or over who cannot read or write, and for candidates whose serious health problems or disability rule out the written test.

Held every four months at designated schools in Portugal, more often when registrations justify it, and abroad at Camões-accredited places. You register online on the IAVE website and must pay the fee within five working days, or the registration lapses. The fee is not refunded if you miss the test.

The new condition (c) adds culture, history and national symbols to the language, and (d) adds rights, duties and the organisation of the State. Article 25 of the Regulation, as quoted above, covers only the language.

Article 4 of Lei Orgânica 1/2026 told the Government to amend the Regulation within 90 days of publication, that is by mid-August 2026. When we read them on 13 November 2026, the consolidated Regulation on the Lisbon Prosecutor General's site still listed its last amendment as Decreto-Lei n.º 41/2023, and the Ministry of Justice's nationality pages were down for maintenance. We could not confirm the format of the culture and civics part. Check the Ministry of Justice or IRN before you apply.

Article 6(10): nationals of countries where Portuguese is an official language are presumed to meet the language part of condition (c), unless a lack of Portuguese is obvious to the services.

Our reading: the presumption covers the first part of (c), the language, so the culture, history and symbols part, and condition (d), still apply.

A2 is a modest level: everyday exchanges, short texts and simple messages. The test above is reading, writing and listening, so practise all three, not only conversation. If you learned Brazilian Portuguese, the test is in Portugal's standard: see Brazilian vs European Portuguese.

Lesson prices vary by teacher; our guide to Portuguese lesson prices shows the ranges we found and where they come from.