The Jewish community in Portugal - Recommendation letter

Any person who has Sephardic ancestors and is interested in receiving a Portuguese passport, can do so; provided they can prove their Sephardic ancestry based on an official document. Proving the Sephardic ancestry will be done with a family tree of about 5 generations. In addition, the candidate needs to provide a recommendation letter. But what is a recommendation letter?

A recommendation letter is a supporting document that shows the Portuguese government that the candidate was recognized by the Jewish Portuguese community as a descendant of expelled Sephardic Jews. But before you send your request, you should know a little about the different Jewish communities and their roles.

The communities are divided on who is entitled to receive a recommendation letter, as the article will show. Our office contacts one community to receive a recommendation for applicants who are Jewish according to the Halacha. The other community provides recommendations for non-Jewish descendants of the expelled Jews, including descendants of the Anusim and Conversos.

The Jewish community in Portugal – Recommendation letter

There are two Jewish communities in Portugal which can provide an official recommendation letter: one in Porto and on in Lisbon. There is also a Jewish community in Belmonte, but as of May 2020, the Portuguese authorities have not yet recognized its right to provide a recommendation.

The Jewish community in Porto – if you are Israeli, the Jewish community in Porto will probably give you the recommendation letter. However, they give the letter only to people whose parents are considered Jewish according to the Halacha.

In order to receive the letter, you must prove a Sephardic connection. A family tree of about 5 generations can prove a Sephardic connection, depending on your country of origin. Surname, language (Ladino or Haketia), Tombstones, Ktuvot, food, garments, old Sidur’s, old Sephardi traditions and so forth can help prove your descent.

It is important to note that it is not mandatory for all of these categories to apply.

The Jewish community in Lisbon – gives recommendation letters to people who are not Jewish by Halacha, but can prove that their ancestors were Spanish or Portuguese expellees or Anusim. The Jewish community in Lisbon deals with many Latin American Christians, and Muslims from north Africa. Note that these category’s conditions are identical to the previous one, but these two conditions are stressed:

Showing a family tree, preferably a detailed one.
A written record of your ancestors.

It is important to note that the records should be done by outside experts (genealogists) or a rabbi that knows the candidate. The candidate will also provide a hand-written letter, in which he states that his family has Sephardic roots.

The Jewish community of Belmonte – as stated earlier, the Portuguese government has not yet recognized this community.

Click here for a most comprehensive guide on Portuguese citizenship.

Contact us – The Jewish community in Portugal – Recommendation letter

Our law office has expertise in immigration law. If you have trouble, or if you aren’t sure that you are eligible for a Portuguese passport, contact us and we will help you. For your information, there are around 3 million Israelis who are potentially eligible for the passport weather they are Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Yemenite and others.