Portugal's conservative government has reached an agreement with the far-right on a reform that will tighten the requirements for obtaining Portuguese citizenship, reports El País.
The changes increase the waiting period for applying for local citizenship and introduce language and cultural proficiency tests.
It also introduces a requirement that applicants for Portuguese citizenship must not receive state aid at the time of application. They must also be able to demonstrate their own financial means to support themselves in the country.
In addition, the Criminal Code is being amended to allow courts to revoke the Portuguese citizenship of foreigners as an additional penalty for committing crimes.
The reform also removes the special regime for Sephardic Jews to obtain a local passport. But the far-right could not agree on automatically revoking the citizenship of people convicted of serious crimes.
