Report on Citizenship Law: Portugal were in Portugal legally, but on the basis of a different permit, such as a work permit or permit of stay32 (which covered a large percentage of foreigners living in Portugal). Furthermore, Law 25/94 introduced a distinction between foreigners from Lusophone countries and others. It kept the minimum period of residence at six years for the former, but increased it to ten years for the latter. In addition, the arrangements for acquiring Portuguese citizenship through marriage to a Portuguese citizen were amended. The law required a minimum period of three years of marriage for the spouse of a Portuguese citizen to acquire Portuguese citizenship. Furthermore, the opposition by the state could now be founded on the applicant’s failure to prove an effective link to the Portuguese community. Prior to 1994, the Public Prosecutor had to prove the applicant’s obvious lack of integration into the Portuguese community in order to successfully oppose the acquisition of citizenship through marriage. Since this proof was difficult to obtain, the legislation of 1994 transferred the burden of proof by making it the foreign applicant’s duty to prove the link. This then became one of the premises for acquiring citizenship. 2.8. Organic Law 1/2004: the reacquisition of Portuguese nationality In order to eradicate the negative effects of earlier legislation on emigrant communities, Organic Law 1/2004 of 15 January introduced two major changes to the reacquisition arrangements. First, it removed the possibility for reacquisition to be opposed and established ex lege acquisition whenever the loss of nationality had not been registered. Second, reacquisition was made retroactive to the date of loss, thus allowing the children of emigrants born abroad to acquire Portuguese nationality via ius sanguinis. 2.9. Organic Law 2/2006: a democratically inclusive reform The election of a new Socialist Party government in 2005 introduced another change in the citizenship policy. The approval of Organic Law 2/2006 of 17th April deeply changed the Nationality Act. This reform was considered by some scholars as the most generous and the most open-minded since the entry into force of Law 37/81 (Canas 2007: 521). Its main objective was to increase the number of ways in which Portuguese citizenship could be acquired. This objective was justified for several reasons. Demographics were causing concern, as a decrease in the Portuguese population endangered economic stability, the social security system, and the continuity of the Portuguese community. Political issues also provided justification, specifically the desire to increase the relevance of the Portuguese in the international community (Canas 2007: 511). Finally, social concerns required an adjustment of the Nationality Act to manage the internal shift of Portugal from a country of emigration to one of immigration. Given these reasons, the adoption of more inclusive arrangements was imperative, especially with regard to the integration of the immigrants of the second and third generations, whose citizenship did not correspond to an effective link to the country. Their effective relationship with Portugal had not been converted into legal citizenship.33 32 Different from residence permits, a permit of stay (autorização de permanência) excluded the holder from voting or applying for naturalisation in Portugal. 33 This was the main reason invoked by the government for the amendment of the Nationality Act. See, Minister of the Presidency, Parliamentary Debates, Diary of the Assembly of the Republic 54, 2005: 2457. RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/1 - © 2020 Author 11