Ana Rita Gil and Nuno Piçarra simple fact of having once been Portuguese is enough to prove a link with the Portuguese community. This clause also aims to avoid situations of statelessness (Ramos 2007: 209). To benefit from this mode of reacquisition, the applicant must not have acquired another citizenship. If the individual has lost Portuguese citizenship and has acquired foreign citizenship, then the government may grant a discretionary naturalisation (art. 6(6)).85 Quasi-citizenship status of nationals of countries which have Portuguese as their official language Decolonisation had an enormous impact in citizenship legislation. It contributed to the creation of a privileged status for nationals of Lusophone countries, characterised by the conferral of a series of rights regarding political participation which had previously been given only to Portuguese nationals. A common language and history among Lusophone countries was the determining factor for maintaining mutual privileged ties, which was also established as a fundamental principle in Portuguese Foreign Policy (art. 7(3) of the Constitution). These ties led to the creation of a Lusophone status of citizenship, which has its origins in the 1971 Convention on Equal Rights and Obligations between Portugal and Brazil.86 Art. 15(3) of the 1976 Portuguese Constitution gave citizens of Lusophone countries, through international agreement and reciprocity, rights that other foreigners did not have, with the only exception being access to higher positions in the government of the country. In response to demands by Brazilians, a treaty of friendship on equal rights was signed in 2000, strengthening the LusoBrazilian citizenship status created by the 1971 Convention. Furthermore, the 2001 constitutional review reworded art.15(3) allowing the law to confer on citizens of Lusophone states with permanent residence in Portugal, broad citizenship rights which are not conferred on other foreigners, as long as reciprocity conditions are met. The only exceptions are access to ‘positions of President of the Republic, Speaker of the Portuguese National Parliament, Prime Minister, President of the Supreme Courts and service in the Armed Forces and Diplomatic Corps’. The rewording of art. 15(3) of the Constitution was a decisive step in creating the citizenship of the Community of Lusophone Countries and gave a very broad range of political rights. The citizens of these countries who live in Portugal can achieve the same citizenship status as the Portuguese, as long as the same is provided for Portuguese citizens living in their countries. In particular, they can vote at local and national levels and be elected as members of parliament without having to acquire Portuguese citizenship. They also have access to certain professions such as to that of judge or police officer, among others, which entail exercising public authority. As the reciprocity clause is only in place in relation to Brazil, currently only Brazilians enjoy this quasi-citizenship status. Decree-law 154/2003 and the Treaty of Friendship create two legal statuses for Brazilians with residence permits in Portugal which are conferred by the Home Office upon application: the status of equal rights and obligations87 and the status of 85 In this last example the applicant is still exempted from fulfilling the residence and language requirements, but does not have a subjective right to naturalisation. 86 This created a true Luso-Brazilian citizenship status, giving Brazilian nationals with Portuguese residence permits broad political rights. They were denied access, however, to the following positions: President of the Republic, Member of Parliament, Member of the Government, judge of the Supreme Court, diplomatic representative and officer in the armed forces. 87 The status of equal rights and obligations allows Brazilians to enjoy the same rights as Portuguese citizens, especially to hold positions in the civil service which are not predominantly technical (for example, as a judge or a policeman). A Brazilian with this status is only prevented from having the right to diplomatic protection and from holding political positions, serving in the armed forces or diplomatic corps (arts. 15-16 of Decree-Law 28 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/1- © 2020 Author