TNAG-1558-FCO40-2122-Future-of-Hong-Kong-nationality-and-passports-Hong-Kong-(Br-1986 — Page 132

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This elite status--being a Roman citizen--was open to anybody who fulfilled definite requirements. For example, a slave could become a citizen if he could afford to purchase his freedom. Naturally of course one route to citizenship was via birth--being freeborn--but citizenship was open to anybody upon fulfilling specified requirements.

And so it is in Portugal today. One can be born Portuguese-- or one can become Portuguese. To become Portuguese you need only fulfill certain specified conditions. If you can meet those con- ditions you must be granted Portuguese citizenship.

The right of residency

As in most other nations, you must first become a resident of Portugal before you can seek to become a citizen. The prequali- fying residence period is six years.

But, as I pointed out above, you acquire the right, but not the obligation, to reside in Portugal. The consequence of this attitude of Roman law is significant: a right is something you can exercise if you choose to. Provided you maintain your right to reside in Portugal for six years, you can then become a citi-

zen.

But the right to reside is not the obligation to reside. When you qualify for Portuguese residency, you can maintain this right without ever having to actually live in Portugal itself.

While not without cost, the requirement to maintain the right of residency means you can continue to pursue your other aims in life without significant interruption. If your current income, or prospects of substantial increases in that income, depend on your continuing to stay where you are--to continue doing what you are now doing--then you do not have to undertake the search for equivalent opportunities in some other country. Or even worse, suffer a significant decline in your standard of living, which could follow upon moving to another country.

"A man of means

So what are the specific requirements? The simple answer is: you must be "a man of means." This is not as daunting as it sounds. "A man of means" has a specific definition: a person who owns a "hearth" in Portugal.

In other words, the primary requirement to qualify for Portuguese residency is the ownership of a home in Portugal.