Portuguese Embassy Submission Documents Explained

The Portuguese Embassy in the United States lists several documents for the adult children of Portuguese parents to bring to a Portuguese consulate to claim their citizenship (or nationality as it is also called).

The page on the embassy's website is called the Acquisition of Portuguese Nationality by Children of Portuguese Citizens which is under the Consular Affairs section.

The page lists the documentation needed for children under 14 years of age and then for adults who are 18 years and older. The page is not clear in regards to teenagers that fall between 15 and 17.

During my appointment at the consulate I discovered that some of the information on embassy's page for the Acquisition of Portuguese Nationality by Children of Portuguese Citizens is inaccurate (as of the date of this post)!

Based on the 18 years and older criteria found on the consulate's website, it looked like I required the following:

1. Certified copy of the long form of my American birth certificate, legalized by “Apostille.”
2. Passport and driver's license.
3. Marriage certificate, the most recent employer pay stub, and most recent mortgage invoice.
4. A money order for US$359.91, payable to the Portuguese Consulate.
5. Certified copy of both of my Portuguese parents' birth certificates issued within the last six months by the Registrar’s Office ("Conservatória do Registo Civil") of their place of birth with their marriage endorsed on the birth certificate.
6. Copies of my parents’ passports and Portuguese Citizen Cards.

Breakdown of Each Requirement

Requirement #1: The long form of the birth certificate contains various important information about a person's birth. The most notable piece of information on the long form birth certificate is to have the time of birth. Some long form birth certificates issued by various towns and cities do not list the time of birth! Be sure to ask before requesting new copy to give to the Portuguese Consulate. I had to obtain my birth certification from the state I was born in as opposed to the city which did not have my time of birth.

The requirement to have the birth certification legalized by an "Apostille" is an attempt to certify a document before it leaves a country for another country. This can be done at an office of the Secretary of the State you were born in. According to my contact at the consulate, the requirement for legalization by "Apostille" was not necessary.

Requirement  #2:  for personal identification, I provided a brand new US Passport that I had just renewed. I did not provide my driver's license, but it was good insurance to have just in case.

Requirement  #3: A marriage certificate is not needed at this time. Registering the marriage is another procedure that can be done via mail after receiving a certified Portuguese Birth Certificate. I also did not need my pay stub or mortgage invoice.

Requirement #4: as for the money order, the amount listed on the embassy's page is incorrect. In fact, at the time of the writing of this post, the amount listed on the Embassy's website is still incorrect. The correct amount can be obtained from the consulate that is to be visited. It seems that the amount can fluctuate due to the US dollar exchange rate with the Euro and whatever else goes on to comprise that number. When turned over the money, I was told that the money order was not necessary and that I could have handed a personal check or cash. 



Screen Capture from Portugese Embassy's Website Document Requirements with Edits (Click to Enlargen)

Requirement #5: certified Portuguese birth certificates of parents can be obtained from the website, "Instituto dos Registos e Notariado" which the embassy page links to. I will attempt to write about this process in a future post. The marriage between the parents has to be endorsed on the birth certifcates.

I was lucky in that my parents paid a visit to Portugal to attend my cousin's wedding and were able to swing by the Registrar's Office in Alcobaça within the six month requirement.  I am not completely sure if the the six month requirement for the parent's Portuguese birth certificate is necessary at all.

Requirement #6: for parental identification, turn in paper copies of the parent's Portuguese passports and Portuguese Citizenship Cards.