On June 4, Lamares, Capela & Associados published a news about the increased interest in Portuguese citizenship by Sephardic Jews, where it mentions that between 2018 and April 2019 around 21000 nationality applications were registered.
One reason for this increased demand is Brexit. When the United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union, it encouraged Sephardic Jews to apply for Portuguese nationality. According to Dr. Michael Rothwell, delegate of the Porto Jewish Community, he said that before Brexit he only received 5 nationality requests, as opposed to the 400 requests he received 2 months after the UK exit vote from the EU. “I think people are a little nervous about this and therefore feel that having an EU passport would be an advantage even if they are not planning to move to Portugal,” said Dr. Michael Rothwell. EU country has its benefits. “
Spain also allows Sephardic Jews to obtain Spanish nationality but, unlike Portugal, this process is expected to end (in October 2019) and is more complex.
