Right to citizenship : the (un)constitutionality of Article no. 6, paragraph 1, item d) of the Portuguese Nationality Act

The aim of this dissertation is to analyse the requirements that the Portuguese Nationality Act foresees for the acquisition of citizenship through naturalisation, particularly, and with more detail, the requirement set forth in Article no. 6, paragraph 1, item d), which reads as follows: “Not have been convicted, res judicata, with imprisonment of 3 (three) years or more”. This provision will be examined from a constitutional and criminal point of view, particularly by bringing to the discussion the principles of proportionality, double punishment and the prohibition of the automatic effects of sanctions. Furthermore, this study will also focus on the legislative changes that the Portuguese Nationality Act has been suffering over the years and in the consequences of the solution adopted in what respects to the human rights of the foreigners that reside in national territory. This analysis will have as a transversal subject the fundamental right to citizenship, all the rights that are inherent to it and its connection within the scope of human rights