Jewish Right of Return to Portugal
In 2015, Portugal enacted a law granting citizenship to descendants of Sephardic Jews who were persecuted and expelled more than five centuries ago. The measure was a historic step in acknowledging the wrongs of the Inquisition and offering a path of reparation.
What the law does
Portugal’s parliament unanimously endorsed the change in 2013. The government then established the administrative procedures. The law grants dual citizenship to Sephardic Jews who can demonstrate a “traditional connection” to Portuguese Sephardic Jews—for example through family names, family language, or direct or collateral ancestry.
Applicants do not need to travel to Portugal to apply. They are vetted by Portuguese Jewish community institutions as well as by government agencies. The procedure was expected to take about four months, and applicants must declare whether they have a criminal record.
Historical background
Portuguese monarchs had long protected a thriving Sephardic community, valuing both tax revenue and Jewish talent during the Age of Expansion in the 1400s. After Spain expelled the Jews in 1492, tens of thousands crossed into Portugal. King João II charged them a tax for shelter and at first promised ships so they could leave for other countries, but later reneged.
In 1496, his successor, King Manuel I, under pressure from Spain’s Catholic rulers and hoping to marry their daughter Isabella of Aragon, gave Jews ten months to convert or leave. When many chose to leave, Manuel issued a decree forbidding their departure and forcing them to convert to Roman Catholicism as “New Christians.” Many continued to observe Judaism in secret while others, like the family of Baruch Spinoza, eventually left for Amsterdam, London, or Livorno to practice openly. The Portuguese Inquisition, established in 1536, pursued converts suspected of Judaizing; thousands were persecuted, tortured, or burned at the stake.
In 1988, President Mário Soares met with Portugal’s Jewish community and formally apologized for the Inquisition. In 2000, the head of Portugal’s Roman Catholic Church issued a public apology for the suffering imposed by the Church. A monument to the victims of the 1506 Easter Massacre was erected in 2008 outside the São Domingos church in Lisbon, where the massacre began.
Effective date
The Portuguese law of return was enacted on February 27, 2015, with the approval of Decree-Law 30-A/2015. The Council of Ministers had approved the changes on January 29, 2015; the law entered into force upon its publication in the country’s official gazette.
Note: In late 2023/early 2024, Portugal ended new applications under this law, having stated that the program had fulfilled its purpose of historical reparation. The information on this page reflects the law as it was in effect from 2015 until that change.