The milestone of 10 rejections of nationality renouncement requests was reached for the first time, given that Portuguese legislation prevents citizens from becoming nationals of any country.
The number of requests to renounce Portuguese nationality rejected by the State reached, in 2025, the highest value in the last 10 years. According to official data collected by the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN), until November 30th, 20 requests refusedsurpassing the annual decade barrier for the first time. Between 2016 and 2024, the maximum recorded was six rejections.
Despite this increase, the majority of citizens who request the loss of Portuguese nationality continues to obtain a favorable decision. In the last 10 years, 711 requests to change nationality status were submitted to the IRN, of which 636 were granted. Only 31 had a negative response, with 70 processes still being evaluated.
The year 2024 saw the highest number of requests, with 100 requests submitted, of which 84 were approved. The years 2021, 2022 and 2023 follow, with 78, 74 and 73 requests, respectively, all with high approval rates. In 2025, between January and November, the IRN received 65 processes and authorized 59. The main novelty was the significant growth in refusalsincluding requests that were carried over from 2024 to the following year.
According to information obtained, the majority of waiver requests come from emigrants who have started to favor passports from the countries where they live and work. The law does not require the applicant to provide justification for the decision, but it imposes an essential condition: indicating which nationality he will hold. THE Portuguese legislation prohibits statelessnesspreventing a citizen from being without any nationality.
Article 8 of the Nationality Law establishes that they can only lose Portuguese nationality those who are already nationals of another State. The request can be initiated online or in person, but must be formally presented by a lawyer, with a fixed cost of 150 euros.
