Citizenship Update—Last for a While
Unless, of course, something changes!
I started my “run” for Portuguese citizenship back in December, even though I wasn’t sure if I had enough time in as a resident to qualify. I decided to use an attorney to help me through the process, and at the time, I didn’t know if I had just thrown away €550 (€250 application fee/€300 for the attorney).
The changes in citizenship requirements kind of had me (and thousands of others who wanted citizenship) on hold for the first quarter of the year, but once I knew my application had been accepted by AIMA, it was time to finish up the paperwork.
When I first put in my application, I didn’t have a copy of my birth certificate which didn’t really matter—I would have had to get a new one and have it apostilled by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. If you’re moving here, I’d say it’s a good idea to get a few copies of your birth certificate apostilled before you leave the States. Unless you have people on the ground back home who are kind enough to do some running around for you, it can get VERY expensive, very quickly.
The other item I didn’t have was a fresh FBI background check. You need one as part of your residency visa requirements when you first apply, but you will also need a new background check when you apply for citizenship. This proved trickier than the birth certificate. I’ll get to that in a bit.
