Last year, the number of visas granted at Portuguese consular posts increased by 47.1%, with 102,528 visas granted, the highest number since 2015, the period under analysis in Demographic Statistics 2023.

Of the total, 81,415 were granted for residence, representing 79.4% of the total and an increase of 53.3% compared to the previous year.

According to the report published on the INE portal, 56.1% of residence visas were granted to men and above all to citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries, namely Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe, which represent 63.3%.

In addition to residence visas, consular posts granted 21,113 temporary stay visas, 27.5% more compared to 2022.

In this case, the majority of visas were granted to women (51.8%) and citizens of Angola, Brazil, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and Mozambique represent 71.1%.

Demographic Statistics 2023 also reveal that 16,985 foreigners residing in Portugal acquired Portuguese nationality in 2023, 18.5% less than in 2022.

“The main route for acquiring Portuguese nationality by foreigners residing in Portugal was naturalization through residence in national territory for at least six years (63.6%) followed by “marriage or stable union for more than three years with a Portuguese citizen” (14.8%)”, says the report.

On the other hand, 24,408 foreigners not resident in Portugal acquired Portuguese nationality, 3.8% less than the previous year and eight out of every 10 because they were “descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews”, registering an increase of 10.2 %.

Marriage or stable union with a Portuguese citizen for more than three years remained the second most representative reason, despite the 21.5% decrease.

In 2023, 10,639,726 people lived in Portugal, which represented an increase for the fifth consecutive year in the population residing in the country.