Ana Rita Gil and Nuno Piçarra (and therefore from the date of loss of Portuguese citizenship), without affecting the validity of previously established legal implications based on another citizenship. The intention was to consider of Portuguese origin the children of emigrants who were born after the loss of Portuguese citizenship resulting from the 1959 Law. This new arrangement allows for children who were born after the automatic loss of Portuguese citizenship by their parents, to acquire citizenship of origin if they state that they want to be Portuguese or if they register their birth with the Portuguese Civil Registry, in accordance with the terms of art. 1(1)(c) of the Nationality Act. 3.2. Specific rules and status Dual citizenship Portugal has not signed any international conventions which prevent dual citizenship. The 1981 Nationality Act shook off the principle that a person should only have the citizenship of one country and that the acquisition of a foreign citizenship should lead to the loss of Portuguese citizenship (Ramos 1994: 136). Furthermore, access to Portuguese citizenship is never subject to the loss of any foreign citizenship which the person in question might hold, which means that the two citizenships may co-exist. The Nationality Act merely sets out rules to resolve conflicts when dual citizenship occurs. Thus, should a person hold both foreign and Portuguese citizenship, only the latter is taken into consideration by Portuguese law (art. 27 of the Nationality Act). Citizenship rights of those who were born as citizens and those who acquire citizenship after birth People who have acquired Portuguese citizenship after birth enjoy the same status as those who acquired it at birth, except for eligibility to become the President of the Republic. Art. 122 of the Constitution sets out that only citizens of Portuguese origin, i.e., who acquired Portuguese citizenship at birth, are eligible to become President of the Republic. However, those who acquired citizenship after birth enjoy more favourable arrangements as far as military duties are concerned, in that they are excused from national service should they acquire Portuguese citizenship upon their eighteenth birthday or later (art. 38(3)(a) of Law 174/99 of 21 September). Expatriates and former Portuguese citizens Reinforcing the ties between the country and the Portuguese citizens residing abroad was considered to be an important aspect of the new citizenship legislation. Art. 14 of the Constitution sets out that ‘Portuguese citizens who temporarily or habitually reside abroad shall enjoy the protection of the state in the exercise of their rights, and shall be subject to such duties as are not incompatible with their absence from the country’. Birth or prior residence in the country is not a condition for granting voting rights to expatriates. If Portuguese residents abroad are registered with the consulate for electoral purposes, or are in Portuguese territory, they can vote and stand for parliamentary and presidential elections.81 To 81 However, according to art. 121(2) of the Portuguese Constitution, the law which allows the right to vote to Portuguese citizens who reside abroad pays due regard to the existence of ties that effectively link them to the Portuguese community. 26 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/1- © 2020 Author