Jakarta, hitclubapk3 Indonesia
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Thousands of residents
Israel
registered at the Portuguese Embassy in Ramat Hasharon since last Friday (28/11) to obtain Portuguese citizenship.
A long queue of thousands of Israelis was seen at the Citu Glilot Cinema, Israel, to obtain Portuguese citizenship or renew their passports.
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The queue snaked from the complex entrance to the underground parking area, quoted from
the Times of Israel
.This was after the Portuguese Embassy announced it would allow people to wait in person for appointments to apply for citizenship or to renew their Portuguese passports in December and January, without prior scheduling.
The Portuguese Embassy last month announced it would hold a special “The Past Is Back” event to reduce the online registration system which has exceeded capacity.
The Portuguese Embassy’s announcement on its official Facebook account says “open to all Portuguese citizens.”
The news spread very quickly, drawing more people than the venue’s capacity until the queues were so long all day long.
Some residents even came since dawn in the hope of getting a place, while others returned when they found out that there were so many people queuing.
On its Facebook account, Portugal said thousands of residents had been “helped” and no one had been left stranded.
Previously, Portugal announced that starting May 2026, the validity period of Portuguese passports would be extended from five to 10 years.However, those in line will likely still get a Portuguese passport with a five-year term.
The increase in requests from Israeli citizens to become Portuguese citizens began when Portugal implemented the “Law of Return” in 2015. This law allows Sephardic Jews who still have Portuguese descendants affected by the tragedy of the Inquisition in the 16th century, to obtain passports from that country.
In December 2023 the Portuguese government announced it was ending the policy and stated that the objectives had been “met.”
However, the government did not remove this rule, but rather tightened the selection of Sephardic Jews who still had Portuguese ancestry who could apply for citizenship.
Israeli citizens are flocking to register Portuguese citizenship in order to aim for a European Schengen visa, making it easier for them to travel to European countries with that visa.
Demand was high after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Israelis were busy looking for a passport second only to the Israeli passport.
Israel itself enforces dual citizenship or two passports for its citizens,
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