OPORTO, Portugal, December 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
The Jewish Community of Oporto
is already evaluating the applications of people claiming to be
descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews and for this reason wish
to obtain Portuguese nationality.
According to the Regulation of the Nationality Law, which will
be approved in the coming weeks, the applicant for Portuguese
Nationality must first obtain a Certificate from the Portuguese
Jewish Community which attests to his/her ties to a Sephardic
Jewish Community of Portuguese origin. A request for this
Certificate must be addressed to the Jewish Community of
Oporto or to the Jewish Community
of Lisbon.
From 15th December 2014, the
Jewish Community of Oporto is
ready to receive requests from descendants of Portuguese Sephardic
Jews who wish to obtain a certificate issued by the Portuguese
Jewish Community attesting this status. The requests should be
addressed by digital means to the following email address:
portuguesenationality@comunidade-israelita-porto.org, together with
the all of the supporting documentary evidence as may required for
a proper evaluation of the matter and decision. Evidence of the
applicant's family history of connection to a Sephardic Community
of Portuguese origin may be direct and circumstantial. For more
information please visit the official website of the Jewish
Community of Oporto.
On July 3, 2013, the Portuguese
Parliament approved the bill, amending the Nationality Law that
allows descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews to apply for
Portuguese nationality. The bill was introduced by Maria de Belem
Roseira (President of the Socialist Party) and was approved
unanimously in the Portuguese Parliament.
Now the Regulation of the Nationality Law is finished. It may
take days or weeks to get published but the candidates
certification needs to start now, for the majority of cases will
take a long time.