Almost, but not quite, belonging in the chapter
on citizenship without residence, is the country which I find the most
attractive among those that I have studied for this Report. It is Portugal.
In view of the material contribution made to Portugal’s attractiveness
by Roman law, as you will see, it may be asked: “Why not Italy?”
Italy, after all, is where Rome is. Well Italy should certainly be considered
as an alternative to Portugal (although there are differences that render
the two not precisely comparable), and I have included a short section
on Italy below [see Chapter 7].
In Portugal, you can become a resident, and later. a citizen, via a
simple real estate investment — one incidentally that carries
fewer risks than some of the similar investments in the more remote
places mentioned in this Report.
During the period in which you have the right to reside in Portugal
(as a result of your property ownership) you do not have to actually
live there. There are drawbacks which I shall mention in the following
outline of the requirements for gaining Portuguese residency and citizenship,
and the costs of doing so.
Roman Law
Under Roman law, from which Portuguese law is derived, a prospective
resident is required to be a man of means.
What does this mean? It is defined as, inter alia, the owner of immovable
property. A fundamental difference between Roman law — the basis
of the law of Portugal and the few other European countries unsullied
by the Napoleonic Code — and English common law is that “what
is written must be so.” If, under Roman law, you meet the requirements
of the law in whatever respect, you must be granted every privilege
that thereby results.
Similarly, to gain the protection of Roman law, you must comply precisely
with the law in every respect.
While there remains latitude for the exercise of discretion, there is
little if any scope for free interpretation — a significant difference
from countries like England or the US, where, following the trend of
English common law, a court’s interpretation of the law can sometimes
give it a new meaning.
For our purposes, this means that the requirements for Portuguese residency
and citizenship are specific: any person who meets the requirements
must automatically receive the right of residency in Portugal.
As we shall see later, there are bureaucratic requirements that may
seem to make the process somewhat less simple than automatic, but so
long as you comply with those requirements, the principle remains unaltered.
To understand the force of the Roman system of law, consider one aspect
of the American, Australian, Canadian or New Zealand laws of citizenship:
any person born in one of those countries (bar a child of diplomatic
personnel) is automatically a citizen of that country with all rights
that are attached to such citizenship. In other words, in those countries
citizenship by birth is a right, stemming from “jus solis,”
the law of territorial origin (unlike the UK where it has been made
a right depending in part on your parentage).
Harking back to the ancient system of the rights of Roman citizens under
Roman law, Portuguese law confers the right of residency followed by
the right of citizenship on anyone who meets the specified requirements.
This is an important distinction. When emigrating to Canada or the USA,
for example, you are granted a permission because the government sees
some benefit in having you present in the country. Whether that benefit
is increased happiness for one or more of its citizens (reunion of families)
or helping the government at the next election (more jobs as a result
of your investment or more taps getting fixed because you are a much-needed
plumber), your status is still undetermined until such time as you have
qualified for citizenship; only when you become a citizen is your legal
status by right rather than by permission.
Clearly, the simple right to reside does not bring the country any benefits
unless it is turned into an obligation to reside — which is exactly
what these countries require you to do in order to become a citizen.
The attitude of Portuguese law is quite different, and is reminiscent
of the requirements for Roman citizenship in the Roman Empire 2,000
years ago. When Rome ruled the known world, Roman citizens were an elite
within the empire. Citizens had rights, such as protection from arbitrary
punishment by the authorities and the right to a trial. By contrast,
the Roman authorities could punish anyone who was not a Roman citizen,
without due process of law.
This elite status, of citizenship, was open to anyone who fulfilled
certain requirements. For example, a slave could become a citizen if
he could afford to purchase his freedom. Naturally, one route to citizenship
was birth, though only if freeborn, but citizenship was open to all
who satisfied certain requirements.
And so it is in Portugal today. One can be born Portuguese — and
obviously since slavery was abolished everyone born in Portugal is freeborn,
and is automatically a Portuguese citizen (even if born of foreign parents,
except parents in the employ of a foreign government or not resident
in Portugal for at least six years) — or one can become Portuguese.
To become Portuguese you need only fulfil certain specified conditions.
If you meet those conditions you must be granted Portuguese citizenship.
The right of residency
As is the case with most other nations (apart from the few which will
confer citizenship without residence), you must first become a resident
of Portugal before you can become a citizen. The qualifying period of
residency is 6 years.
But, as pointed out above, you acquire the right, but not the obligation,
to reside in Portugal. The consequence of this attitude of Roman law
is significant: a right is something you can exercise, or not, as you
choose. Provided you maintain for 6 years your right to reside in Portugal,
you can then become a citizen.
Because the right to reside is not an obligation to reside, its mere
acquisition, and its maintenance for 6 years thereafter, is enough to
qualify you for citizenship without your having actually physically
to reside.
While this is not without cost, the requirement that you maintain the
right of residency means that you can continue to pursue your other aims
in life without significant interruption. If your current income, or prospects
of substantial increases in that income, depend on your continuing to
stay where you are and to do what you are now doing, then you do not have
to search for equivalent opportunities in some other country. Or even
worse, suffer the decline in your standard of living that could follow
a move to another country. /continued...
Reminder: This edition of How To Get A Second Passport was published
in 1990. Check the useful
links page for updated information.
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