LISBON, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Portugal's parliament on Wednesday approved a revised Nationality Law that tightens the conditions for obtaining and retaining Portuguese citizenship, after the Constitutional Court struck down an earlier version.
Two decrees were passed with the support of the center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD), the far-right Chega party, the Liberal Initiative, and the CDS-People's Party, securing the required two-thirds majority. Left-wing parties, including the Socialists, Livre, the Communist Party, the Left Bloc and the PAN, voted against both measures.
The first decree bars individuals convicted of serious crimes and sentenced to three or more years of effective imprisonment from obtaining Portuguese nationality.
The second, which amends the Penal Code, introduces the loss of nationality as an additional penalty for those sentenced to five or more years in prison for crimes deemed very serious, including aggravated homicide, slavery, human trafficking, rape and sexual abuse, as well as criminal association, drug trafficking, and arms trafficking.
The legislation is the result of a parliamentary agreement between PSD and Chega, after the original version approved in October last year was returned to parliament by the Constitutional Court, which unanimously found several provisions unconstitutional primarily on grounds of violating the principle of equality.
Under the deal, the PSD and the CDS-People's Party dropped their original proposal of a six-year threshold for nationality loss, accepting Chega's proposal of five years, and lowered from four to three years the sentencing threshold that blocks acquisition of nationality.
The approved text will now be sent to President Antonio Jose Seguro, who may promulgate, veto, or refer the legislation to the Constitutional Court for a fresh review of its constitutionality. ■
