Legal actions

There are citizenship and civil registry processes that necessarily need to be preceded by a judicial action in Portugal, for example, citizenship by common-law marriage must be preceded by a judicial action declaring the union. The decision that decrees or homologates the divorce abroad must be reviewed and confirmed to be valid in Portugal, as well as the decision on paternity acknowledgement or adoption.

In other situations, applicants may be confronted with a legal action in the middle of the procedure, such as the action to oppose the citizenship that is to be acquired by will (citizenship by marriage or common-law marriage and that of the minor and incapacitated children of the foreigners who have acquired it).

But in addition to said procedures, there are other administrative procedures in which the Applicant may have an interest in safeguarding and enforcing its rights, such as the action for condemnation to perform a due act – when the Civil Registry omits mandatory acts, the special procedure of summons for the defence of rights, freedoms and guarantees, or even the contentious appeal of acts, omissions and decisions of the Registry.