According to data from the Immigration Observatory, the number of Portuguese who obtained Spanish citizenship increased by 58.1% in 2019.
This may be due to one of the reasons why the descendants of Venezuelan immigrants chose this destination because of their language affinity.
Rui Pena Pires, Scientific Coordinator of Immigration Observatory of ISCTE-University of Lisbon Institute, said during the presentation of immigration report. According to reports, about 80,000 Portuguese left Portugal in 2019.
Documents show that during this period, 596 Portuguese acquired Spanish citizenship, an increase of 58.1% over the previous year (377). In 2017, this number was 135.
Until 2010, the number of Portuguese who obtained Spanish citizenship was between 400 and 600 per year. It increased to 1,265 in 2013, decreased to 135 in 2017, and increased again in 2018 and 2019.
The document states that Spain is the seventh country in the world where the majority of Portuguese obtained the citizenship of the destination country in 2019.