The origin of the New Christians comes from the inquisitorial period. The inquisition was religious persecution of the Jews within the Iberian Peninsula that began in 1492 in Spain, arrived in Portugal 4 years later, in 1496, and led to the center of 1820. In other words, for quite 300 years religious persecutions happened for the Jews who were therein region. The Jewish people were persecuted, cruelly tortured, and killed, and that they were left with only three options: escape (not all succeeded), conversion or death.
Those who were cruelly compelled to convert are called today's New Christians. people that once had an awareness of ancestral belonging to Judaism and today have resumed the Jewish faith are named Bnei Anussim. Studies indicate that 15% of the whole Portuguese population consisted of Jews. thanks to colonization in Brazilian lands, most of those new Christians were sent to the territory of Brazil. therefore, the estimate is that quite 30 million Brazilians may have this origin. to offer you a thought, surnames like Oliveira, Pereira, Mendes, Costa, Correia, Fernandes, Rodrigues, Tavares, Santos, Silva, Fogaça, Cardozo, Nunes, Fonseca and lots of others … are quite common among new Christians and if you or someone in your family possibly contains any of those surnames your family must have had some Jewish origin and automatically be eligible for Portuguese citizenship.
Furthermore, concerning the proper to citizenship, Portugal was clear in its law and guarantees the proper of citizenship to all or any descendants of Jews at the time of the inquisition, whether he was converted to Christianity or managed to flee (Normally to the North of Africa). Proof of belonging to a family that converted to Christianity at the time, however, might not appear to be an easy task. however, we at Passport Club, have thought of a special route to assist you, a descendant of a persecuted Jew, to understand if you've got proper for Portuguese and European citizenship!
For more content, contact us, the list of surnames is huge!
Step by step to get Portuguese citizenship:
1st Step – Genealogical Study:
Once you're curious about Portuguese citizenship through the Sephardic way, it's essential to spot your Sephardic Jewish ancestor. we have a team of specialists both in Brazil and in Portugal who carries out an excellent and detailed family study, reaching up to dozens of previous generations and identifying a Sephardi from Spain or Portugal in his family.
2nd Step – Certification of the Jewish Community of Portugal:
The Portuguese citizenship law by the Sephardic way imposes a certification of the ancestry of the Jewish Community in Portugal. There are two communities regularized by the Portuguese government to hold out this procedure: The Jewish Community of Porto and therefore the Jewish Community of Lisbon. After finishing a really rich study administered by our genealogy team of Clube do Passport, an approval of descendants by the Jewish Community of Portugal is required. We prepare the submission within the framework imposed by the Jewish Community and received official approval.
That leads us to the last step:
3rd Step: Conservatory
Once approved by the Jewish Community, the certificate is being submitted, alongside other bureaucratic documents (such as ID, passport, etc.) to at least one of the conservatories of the Institute of Registries and Notaries – IRN of Portugal. These conservatories certify that the documents are original which you're eligible for the method . after confirming that- they perform your Portuguese birth registration.
Ready! Congratulations! Now you're a Portuguese citizen!
