Eligibility for a Portuguese passport
Millions of people in Israel and around the world are eligible to apply for Portuguese citizenship. This article explains why so many of us are able to apply for Portuguese citizenship and on what basis.
Our law firm specializes in obtaining Portuguese citizenship for descendants of expellees from Spain and Portugal. Our offices, located in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, have departments working around the clock and maintaining direct contact with Portuguese authorities in order to provide our clients with the necessary certifications and to submit any documents required in the application process.
Who is eligible for a Portuguese passport?
In March 2015, the Portuguese parliament announced that the Republic’s gates would be open to any descendant of the Jews who were expelled from Portugal or Spain at the end of the 15th century. Many people fit this criterion– tens of millions, in fact. According to statistical estimates, the number of people eligible in Israel ranges between 2.5-3 million, while worldwide — especially on the South American continent — the number of people eligible ranges between 50-75 million or more.
A little history: in the 14th and 15th centuries, about a third of the world’s Jews lived on the Iberian Peninsula — Spain and Portugal. According to historical estimates, this Jewish community numbered about 300,000 at its peak. The community’s considerable impact on Jewish culture can be seen to this day, especially in the Jewish religious world.
For example, there are the four main Halachic adjudicators (poskim) who were all Sephardic or lived in Spain and became widely known: Rabbi Yitzchak Alfasi, Rabbi Asher ben Yechiel, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon and Rabbi Yosef Karo.
Another example is the prayer book (siddur) that was formed in Spain over a thousand years ago and is now accepted as the common version by the vast majority of Israeli communities. The prayer book was arranged by Rabbi Amram Gaon who was an exilarch (Rish Galuta) at the Sura yeshiva in Babylon. After finishing the prayer book he sent it to the Barcelona community, which had requested a uniform prayer text for all members of the community.
Up until that point there were several versions, some varying quite widely. However, it was decided in Barcelona that this text would become the standard version of the prayer book from that point onwards. As a result, since then all existing prayer books are in fact a copy (some with small differences in liturgical poems or other subtle nuances) of the one whose content was ultimately determined by the religious scholars (Chachamim) of Barcelona.
Nonetheless, many people still think that they are not eligible for a Portuguese passport and believe that in order to obtain one they must prove a connection that goes back generation after generation to the Jews deported from Spain. This article intends to clarify that such is not the case. In fact, your proof of relation is completed officially prior to even building a family tree to establish your eligibility.
How is eligibility actually determined?
It is important to clarify that the step of building a family tree is purely formal. This means that you will have to fill out a fairly simple family tree, which does not actually prove a connection to Spain or Portugal, but rather to the mother countries that are defined by the Jewish community in Porto (which is responsible for issuing the letter of recommendation) as “Sephardic countries” (see “What are the initial signs of eligibility?” below).
Which countries are included?
As mentioned above, the Jewish community situated in Porto, which is responsible for screening and approving applications, initially makes an automatic distinction between different regions and especially between different countries. What does this mean? Nowadays it is known that the vast majority of those who were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492 (the Spanish expulsion) and 1497 (the Portuguese expulsion) initially moved to the North African countries — Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
The majority of the Sephardi population chose to immigrate to the Ottoman Empire because of the rights it granted to Jews. The Ottoman Empire in those years spread over a vast area, and in many cities throughout the empire, the expellees decided to establish new Spanish settlements from scratch. The vast majority of these settlements prospered until the middle of the 20th century — more precisely, until World War II.
The area we are referring to encompasses quite a few modern-day countries such as Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Bulgaria, (parts of) Romania, Greece, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Slovenia and Croatia.
What are the initial signs of eligibility?
As a matter of fact, nowadays we know that almost every Jew who comes from the aforementioned countries (with the exception of most Romanian Jews) is a descendant of the wide and glorious Spanish diaspora, which was scattered across the coastlines of those countries at the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century. Over the years the Spanish communities assimilated into the local populations, leaving no room for doubt about the existence of Spanish blood ties among the descendants of immigrants from the aforementioned countries.
This serves as the initial and basic proof of eligibility for Moroccans, Algerians, Syrians, Turks and more.
For more information, we explain this subject in depth in “Eligibility for a Portuguese passport — the Comprehensive Guide”.
Additional proof of Spanish integration with the Jewish communities in question
More decisive evidence regarding the descendants of immigrants from these countries can be found in their surnames. In many cases, surnames can serve as proven remnants that indicate a direct connection to a country of origin. You may be surprised to find out that hundreds of Israeli surnames actually have Spanish or Portuguese origins. Here are some examples: Lahiani, Ohana, Marciano, Moyal, Pinto, Suissa, Leon and Alkalai. These are all names of cities and towns in Spain where Jews lived for hundreds of years.
A few more examples: the surnames Malka, Dahan, Bardugo, Biton, Ben Shushan, Hayyat and more are also of Spanish origin. Most of them are tied to the Jewish Golden Age, going back to the Al-Andalus era in Spain, which produced famous philosophers, scientists, opticians, astronomers, mathematicians and more.
Therefore, it must be emphasized that if you are a descendant of immigrants from one of the aforementioned countries, you almost certainly meet the criteria for a European Portuguese passport, with all its exclusive benefits.
Cultural characteristic — language
The two points mentioned above provide the most solid evidence for belonging to Sephardic Jews. However, there are other related points that also stand as clear evidence of Portuguese/Spanish roots. One of these is the language spoken in your family. It is well known that among the descendants of the Ottoman (European) empire, for 400 years, there was an extensive, highly developed and rich culture of “Judaismo” — Ladino. If you can prove that your ancestors spoke Ladino, there is practically no doubt that you are indeed eligible for Portuguese citizenship.
Regarding Moroccan expatriates, it is known that in the northern cities such as Tetouan, Tangier, Ceuta, Melilla and others, the Jewish residents spoke a special Spanish language until the 20th century that was a mixture of other languages such as Arabic, Hebrew and Aramaic. The language is known as “Hakitiya” and is also a clear indication of Spanish roots.
In summary – eligibility for a Portuguese passport
If this article clarified some of your questions regarding your eligibility for a Portuguese passport, you are welcome to contact us. We will be happy to help you obtain your long-awaited passport. If you are still unsure of your eligibility after reading this article, we recommend you contact our firm to obtain clear explanations and answers to any relevant questions.
Contact us – who is eligible for a Portuguese passport?
Our firm specializes in obtaining Portuguese passports for descendants of expellees from Spain and Portugal. Contact us with any inquiries on this issue.
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