Following up a nationality application: status codes, delays, what to do

A nationality file at the IRN moves through four stages that you can read online with the access code sent when the request was registered. Most files spend their time in under analysis, waiting for external checks or for a document asked by post. Knowing which is which separates a sleeping file from one that closes.

Updated 18 September 2026Facts checked against official sources (listed at the end)

Three ways to check

Online, on the justica.gov.pt status page, with the access code (código de consulta) e-mailed when the file was created. If a lawyer or solicitador filed for you, the code may have gone to them. Lost code: ask at a Balcão da Nacionalidade or call the Linha Registos with your file number and identity.
By phone: Linha Registos +351 211 950 500.
In person at a Balcão da Nacionalidade (Registos Centrais in Lisbon, designated registry offices).

Consultation is free. Two kinds of file cannot be checked online: origin nationality by registration of a birth (consulates included), and late transcriptions of births before 1962 in the former Portuguese India or before 1975 in the African territories and Timor.

4 stages: Submetido → Em análise → Para decisão → Concluído
+351 211 950 500 Linha Registos, file number and identity required
Post is how the IRN notifies you — keep your address current
Free consultation and code re-issue

What each stage means

Stage	The IRN’s definition	What is really happening
Submetido	the request entered a registry service and was recorded	the file exists; nothing has been examined yet (formerly stages 1–2)
Em análise	legal requirements, completeness, authenticity of documents are being checked; the file may be waiting for external entities	the long stage: criminal-record checks, consultation of AIMA, of the Public Prosecutor where a conviction appears (art. 6.º n.º 16 suspends the file), or a letter asking you for a missing or expired document (formerly stages 3–5)
Para decisão	the decision order has been issued	the Minister’s (or delegated) decision exists; you will be notified (formerly stage 6)
Concluído	granted and registered, or refused and archived	the nationality is in the civil register — request the Cartão de Cidadão — or the refusal is notified with the grounds and the remedies (formerly stage 7)

Why files stall, and the fix

A notification went to an old address. The IRN writes by post; an unanswered request for documents leaves the file “em análise” indefinitely, then archived. Fix: update the address at the Balcão, ask what was requested, answer within the deadline.
Expired criminal record certificates. Certificates older than the IRN’s tolerance at the time of analysis are re-requested. Fix: obtain fresh apostilled certificates as soon as the request arrives; for pending files from before 2026 this is the most frequent letter.
Missing proof of language or ties (grandchildren, spouses under six years of marriage). Fix: send the CIPLE certificate or the ties evidence proactively.
Public Prosecutor consultation after a conviction shows: the file is suspended until the Prosecutor’s opinion or a court decision (art. 6.º n.º 14–16). A lawyer can present the elements of integration the law lists.
Volume. The IRN has handled hundreds of thousands of files since 2020; the September 2024 platform digitised intake and analysis at the Registos Centrais and the Porto archive. Delays remain long for grandchildren and naturalisations; descent registrations for children are faster.

Access Portugal takes over files where the applicant's previous adviser has gone quiet: we recover the access code, read the file at the Balcão with a power of attorney, answer the pending request and, where the law allows, ask for the Prosecutor's or the court's intervention. The service is quoted after we have seen the status.

After “Concluído”

Granted: the nationality is registered; effects run from the registration (art. 12.º). Request the Cartão de Cidadão (biometrics at an IRN counter, a consulate or an Espaço Cidadão) and the passport. Refused: the notification states the grounds and the deadlines for an administrative challenge or a court action; for declarations (marriage, descent) the Public Prosecutor’s opposition is brought in court within two years of the registration (art. 10.º).

Questions

How long does "em análise" last?

There is no legal deadline for nationality decisions. Recent files have ranged from months (children's registrations) to two years and more (grandchildren, naturalisations with foreign consultations). A file that has not moved in twelve months should be checked at the Balcão for an unanswered request.

Can I speed up my file?

You cannot buy priority. You can remove the reasons for delay: complete documents, valid certificates, a current address, quick answers to letters, and a lawyer's power of attorney so the IRN deals with someone who reads Portuguese.

I filed before 19 May 2026. Does the new law affect my file?

No: pending files are decided under the previous wording of the Act. Only new requests follow the 2026 rules.

Sources and official references

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