Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea is a member of the CPLP. The situations that reach the firm are less frequent than in the other Portuguese-speaking African countries: Equatorial Guinean nationals who want to live or study in Portugal, families with ties to Portugal or Brazil, and investors doing business in the country.

Unlike Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe, several rules applicable to nationals of Equatorial Guinea are not confirmed by an official Portuguese source. Below we explain what is confirmed and what we assess case by case. The firm does not practice law in Equatorial Guinea: when a step is needed in that country, the local procedure must be conducted by a lawyer licensed in Equatorial Guinea, retained by the client; the firm handles the effects in Brazil and Portugal and can coordinate with that lawyer at the client's request.

Entering Europe

Nationals of Equatorial Guinea need a visa even for short stays in the Schengen area: the country is on the European Union list of States whose nationals require a visa. This visa allows a stay of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, but it cannot be used to apply for residence. For Portugal, according to the official MNE list (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the application is filed at the Embassy of Spain in Malabo, which represents Portugal for this service.

To live in another European country, that country's rules apply: each State has its own national visas, and the EU Blue Card, for highly qualified work, is available in almost every EU country.

Living in Portugal

The starting point is a residence visa obtained while still in the country of origin:

1. Choose the route. Equatorial Guinea is a member of the CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries), but Portugal has not published a notice on the entry into force of the Mobility Agreement for the country. We check case by case, with the consular post, whether the CPLP route is available; since Law 61/2025, it requires a residence visa. The other routes are the general ones: work or business (D1 to D3), study (D4 and D5), family reunification (D6), passive income (D7), remote work (D8) or Golden Visa, compared on the page on visas for Portugal.
2. Gather the documents. Passport, birth certificate, criminal record certificate and proof of means of subsistence, accommodation and insurance (see the documents required by the MNE). Equatorial Guinea is not a party to the Apostille Convention, according to the Hague Conference status table. Documents go through legalization: the consular section of the Embassy of Portugal in Malabo legalizes documents, by prior appointment. Documents in Spanish or French may need to be translated into Portuguese. See the page on apostille and translation of documents.
3. Apply for the visa at the Portuguese post. According to the MNE, national residence visas are not applied for in Malabo, but at the Embassy of Portugal in São Tomé.
4. Travel with the residence visa. It is valid for two entries and a four-month stay, the period within which the residence permit must be requested (Article 58 of Law 23/2007, the Foreigners Act).
5. Obtain the residence permit from AIMA. The temporary permit is generally valid for two years and renewable for periods of three years. Renewal must be requested no later than 30 days before the expiry date (Article 78). See the page on residence permits.
6. Take care of the NIF, SNS user number and Social Security. The residence visa already provides for the provisional assignment of these numbers, which are regularized later.
7. Permanent residence and citizenship. After five years of temporary residence, permanent residence may be requested (Article 80). For citizenship, the law provides for seven years of legal residence for nationals of countries whose official language is Portuguese and ten years for all others (Organic Law 1/2026, Lei Orgânica). Without official confirmation that Equatorial Guinea falls into the first group, prudent planning assumes ten years. See the page on citizenship by length of residence.

Sene & Araújo acts directly in Portugal: we help choose the route, prepare the visa application and follow the process before AIMA, the renewals and citizenship. Anything that depends on Equatorial Guinean authorities is handled by the client or by a lawyer licensed there.

Equatorial Guinea is a CPLP Member State and a signatory to the Agreement on Mobility between the CPLP Member States. In the São Tomé Declaration (2023), the CPLP Heads of State and Government welcomed the completion of the Agreement's ratification process, which includes Equatorial Guinea. However, in Portugal, the Diário da República has not published a notice on Equatorial Guinea's deposit, unlike for the other eight States, and the official treaty database of the Public Prosecutor's Office does not indicate an entry-into-force date for the country. The press reported the deposit in early November 2022. Under Art. 30(2) of the Agreement, this would mean entry into force from December 1, 2022, but that date is not confirmed by an official source.

There is another open question. Each State applies the Agreement only in the modalities and with respect to the States it notifies to the CPLP (Art. 38). According to the press, Equatorial Guinea has so far applied only the visa exemption for diplomatic, special and service passports. Portugal has declared that it applies the temporary stay, the residence visa and CPLP residence, but the note published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not say whether this covers Equatorial Guinea.

This matters because the Portuguese regime depends on the Agreement being in force:

• the special visa conditions of Art. 52-A of Law 23/2007 (Lei) apply to nationals of a State in which the Agreement is in force;
• the CPLP residence permit under Art. 87-A is intended for nationals of States covered by the Agreement and, since Law 61/2025, always requires a residence visa.

Until there is official confirmation, we check in each case, with the Portuguese consular post, whether the application can follow the CPLP route. The general routes remain available: a residence visa for work or study, family reunification with a resident in Portugal (Art. 98, with the time periods introduced by Law 61/2025) and a residence permit for investment.

This section brings together the routes through which nationals of Equatorial Guinea and descendants of Portuguese citizens can hold or apply for Portuguese citizenship. It follows Law 37/81 (Nationality Act (Lei da Nacionalidade)) as amended by Organic Law 1/2026 (Lei Orgânica), in force since May 19, 2026, and the Portuguese Nationality Regulation (Decree-Law 237-A/2006 (Decreto-Lei)). Applications already pending on May 19, 2026 continue to follow the previous law (Art. 7(2) of Organic Law 1/2026). As of the date of this review, the Regulation had not yet been adapted to the new law, despite the 90-day period provided for in Art. 4 of the Organic Law; for this reason, some procedures (such as the tests and the forms) may change.

1. Born in the territory before independence: this route does not apply to Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea was never Portuguese territory: it was a Spanish colony. For this reason, Decree-Law 308-A/75, which defined who retained or lost Portuguese citizenship upon the independence of the former Portuguese colonies, does not apply to people born in Equatorial Guinea. Birth in the country alone creates no connection whatsoever to Portuguese citizenship.

The decree can only be relevant indirectly: if a father, mother or grandparent of an Equatorial Guinean national was born in a former Portuguese colony (for example, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola or Cape Verde) before independence, it must be checked whether that ascendant retained or lost Portuguese citizenship. Only if they retained it can they serve as the basis for the child or grandchild of a Portuguese citizen routes (routes 2 and 3). This review is carried out based on the records of the ascendant's country of birth.

2. Children of a Portuguese father or mother

A child of a Portuguese father or mother born abroad is Portuguese by origin if the birth is registered in the Portuguese civil registry or if the child declares the wish to be Portuguese (Article 1(1)(c) of the Nationality Act (Lei da Nacionalidade); Articles 8 and 9 of the Regulations). It does not matter whether the Portuguese parent is the father or the mother, or whether that parent has already died. Attribution takes effect from birth (Article 11) and later allows citizenship to be passed on to the person's own children.

• Evidence: the application must be supported by proof of the Portuguese citizenship of one of the parents (Art. 8(2) of the Regulation). If the parent was born in a former Portuguese colony before independence, it must first be shown that the parent retained citizenship under Decree-Law 308-A/75 (see route 1).
• Parentage: as a rule, only parentage established while the person was a minor has effect for citizenship purposes. If it is established after the age of majority, it counts only if it results from court proceedings or is recognized in a court action, and the application must be filed within three years after the judgment becomes final (Article 14). A foreign parentage judgment may need to be recognized (reviewed) in Portugal.
• Where: the birth is registered at Portuguese consular services or at the Central Registry Office (Conservatória dos Registos Centrais) (Article 9(1) of the Regulations).
• Parent who became Portuguese later: if the father or mother acquired citizenship only after the child's birth, a different route usually applies: a minor child may acquire it by declaration (Article 2); a child who is already an adult will need to consider the other routes.

More details and the list of documents on the page about citizenship for children of Portuguese citizens.

3. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Portuguese citizens

Grandchildren. A person is Portuguese by origin if he or she has at least one grandfather or grandmother with original Portuguese citizenship who has not lost it, and declares the wish to be Portuguese (Article 1(1)(d) of the Nationality Act; Article 10-A of the Regulations). The law still refers to ties of effective connection to the national community and, since Organic Law 1/2026 (Lei Orgânica), attribution also depends on the requirements of Article 6(1)(c) to (h) (Article 1(3)):

• sufficient knowledge of the Portuguese language and culture, history, and national symbols, proven by a test or certificate;
• knowledge of the fundamental rights and duties inherent in citizenship and of the political organization of the State;
• a solemn declaration of adherence to the principles of the democratic rule of law;
• no convictions of the kinds set out in the law, not posing a danger to national security or defense, and not being subject to restrictive measures of the UN or the European Union.

It is not certain that Equatorial Guinean nationals benefit from the presumption of knowledge of the language (see route 5); it is advisable to plan for the language test or certificate. Applications by grandchildren filed up to May 18, 2026 follow the previous law.

Great-grandchildren. There are two possibilities:

• In two stages: if the child or grandchild of the Portuguese great-grandparent is alive, that person first applies for citizenship (as a child or grandchild), and then the great-grandchild applies as the child or grandchild of a Portuguese citizen;
• Naturalization of great-grandchildren (new route): the Government may grant citizenship to descendants in the 3rd degree in the direct line of Portuguese citizens by origin who have held legal residence in Portugal for at least five years, with a waiver of the general residence period, provided the other naturalization requirements are met (Article 6(8)). This is a discretionary grant ("may grant"), not an automatic right.

IRN fees: EUR 175 for attribution to adult grandchildren (free for minors) and EUR 250 for naturalization of great-grandchildren. More details on the page about citizenship for grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

4. Marriage or de facto union with a Portuguese citizen for more than 3 years

A foreign national who has been married to a Portuguese national for more than three years may acquire citizenship by a declaration made while the marriage subsists (Article 3(1) of the Nationality Act; Article 14 of the Regulations). A person who has lived in a de facto union (união de facto) with a Portuguese citizen for more than three years may also do so, but only after a court decision recognizing the union by the competent court (Article 3(3)). A declaration of stable union or de facto union made before a notary or issued abroad is not sufficient.

• Marriage celebrated in Equatorial Guinea: the Portuguese spouse's marriage must be registered in the Portuguese civil registry. If it was celebrated outside Portugal, it must first be transcribed.
• Impediments: acquisition depends on the absence of the convictions, security risks, and restrictive measures set out in Article 6(1)(f) to (h) (Article 3(4)).
• Opposition by the Public Prosecutor's Office: it may be filed within two years from the registration of the acquisition (Article 10), on the grounds of lack of ties of effective connection to the national community, assessed according to the criteria of Article 6(1)(c) to (i) (language, culture, means of subsistence, among others), or on the grounds of non-technical public office or non-compulsory military service for a foreign State (Article 9(1)). There is no opposition, except on the grounds of subparagraphs (f) to (h), when the marriage or de facto union has lasted more than six years or when there are children in common with Portuguese citizenship (Article 9(2)).
• Usual documents: the applicant's birth certificate, proof of the nationality of origin, criminal record certificates from the countries of birth, of nationality, and of residence after age 16, and, for a de facto union, the certificate of the judgment and a recent declaration by the Portuguese partner confirming that the union continues.

According to the official page justica.gov.pt, the application costs EUR 250. More details on the page about citizenship through marriage or de facto union.

5. Naturalization based on legal residence in Portugal

The law provides for seven years of legal residence for nationals of countries whose official language is Portuguese and European Union citizens, and ten years for everyone else (Art. 6(1)(b)). The Nationality Act (Lei da Nacionalidade) uses the expression "countries whose official language is Portuguese" without defining it, and neither the Regulation, the IRN nor justica.gov.pt publishes a list. Equatorial Guinea is a member of the CPLP, whose Statutes require Member States to use Portuguese as an official language. However, the Equatorial Guinean Fundamental Law (Ley Fundamental) in force, in the text published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (Law 1/2012), names Spanish, French "and those determined by law" as official languages (Art. 4(1)), and we have not found any published law or decree adding Portuguese. Nor have we found any court decision or IRN guidance on the matter.

For this reason, it cannot be stated with certainty that a national of Equatorial Guinea benefits from the seven-year period and the presumption of knowledge of the language. The decision lies with the Central Registry Office (Conservatória dos Registos Centrais). Prudent planning also considers the ten-year period and proof of language knowledge through a test or certificate.

• Counting the time: all periods of legal residence, consecutive or interrupted, are added together, provided they fall within a maximum period of nine years (if the seven-year period applies) or twelve years (if the ten-year period applies) (Art. 15(3)). Residence under any card, visa or permit under the foreigners or asylum legislation counts, without prejudice to special treaty regimes, namely that of the CPLP (Art. 15(1) and (2)). The former rule that also counted the time elapsed since the residence permit application (former Art. 15(4)) has been repealed. The requirements are assessed at the time of the application.
• Language: for the same reason, the presumption in Art. 6(10) is uncertain. It is advisable to plan for proof of language knowledge through a test or certificate. Knowledge of culture, history and national symbols, of rights and duties, and of the political organization of the State must always be demonstrated (points (c) and (d)). The format of the tests still depends on the implementing regulations of the new law.
• Other requirements: being of legal age, solemnly declaring adherence to the principles of the democratic rule of law, being able to support oneself, not having been sentenced to an effective prison term of more than 3 years for the crimes specified in the law, not posing a threat to national security or defense, and not being subject to restrictive measures of the UN or the European Union (Article 6(1)).
• Criminal record: certificates from Portugal and from the countries of birth, of nationality, and of residence after the age of criminal responsibility (Article 6(11)).
• Pending applications: those filed by May 18, 2026 follow the previous law, which required five years of residence.

According to justica.gov.pt, the naturalization application costs EUR 250. More details on the page about citizenship based on length of residence.

6. Adoption by a Portuguese citizen

A person adopted by a Portuguese national acquires Portuguese citizenship by declaration (Article 5 of the Nationality Act). Under Organic Law 1/2026 (Lei Orgânica), acquisition is no longer automatic; the Regulations still repeat the former wording (Article 16), which reinforces the need to confirm the procedure with the registry office. Persons adopted by a Portuguese citizen before Law 37/81 came into force may also acquire citizenship by declaration (Article 29).

An adoption granted in Equatorial Guinea must, as a rule, take effect in Portugal before the application, usually through review and confirmation of the foreign judgment or through the mechanism provided for in an applicable convention. If any step needs to be taken in the local adoption proceedings, that falls to a lawyer licensed in Equatorial Guinea, retained by the client. More details on the page about citizenship through adoption.

7. Documents from Equatorial Guinea and where to file the application

• Certificates: birth and marriage certificates issued by the civil registry of Equatorial Guinea should, if possible, be full-text copies (Art. 37(3) of the Regulation). Obtaining certificates and any corrections in the country is done locally; if a lawyer is needed, it must be a lawyer licensed in Equatorial Guinea, retained by the client.
• Legalization: Equatorial Guinea is not a party to the Apostille Convention (Hague Conference status table). The only bilateral agreements with Portugal recorded in the Public Prosecutor's Office treaty database (the 1998 General Cooperation Agreement and the 2014 Air Transport Agreement) do not waive legalization. For this reason, the legalization provided for in the Code of Civil Procedure applies (Art. 37(9) of the Regulation): authentication of the official's signature by a Portuguese diplomatic or consular officer (Art. 440 of the CPC), to be obtained at the Embassy of Portugal in Malabo.
• Translation: documents in Spanish, French or English do not need translation, unless the registrar or registry officer requires it (Art. 37(2) of the Regulation). Documents in other languages must be accompanied by a certified translation.
• Where to file: at the Consular Section of the Embassy of Portugal in Malabo (there is also an honorary consulate in Malabo, with more limited powers), or in Portugal: the Central Registry Office (Lisbon), the Citizenship Desks and the civil registry offices, or by mail. With a lawyer or solicitor, the application can be submitted online (justica.gov.pt).

See also the citizenship step-by-step guide.

Sene & Araújo works from Brazil and Portugal: we review the family's documents, identify the appropriate route, and prepare and follow the application in Portugal. Each case depends on the evidence available, and questions related to Decree-Law 308-A/75 (Decreto-Lei) are decided case by case by the Central Registry Office and, if necessary, by the courts.

When a family has assets in Equatorial Guinea, Portugal and Brazil, each country usually requires its own acts to transfer the assets located in its territory. For assets located in Equatorial Guinea, the local procedure must be conducted by a lawyer licensed in Equatorial Guinea, retained by the client; the firm handles the effects in Brazil and Portugal and can coordinate with that lawyer at the client's request. On our side, we handle the estate inventory proceedings (inventário) in Brazil and the declaration of heirs (habilitação de herdeiros) and partition of the estate in Portugal, prepared to start from the same documents and the same reading of the applicable law and the heirs.

From Portugal's perspective

Equatorial Guinea is a third State for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 650/2012, which Portugal applies to successions opened since August 17, 2015. In summary:

• the applicable law is, as a rule, the law of the deceased's habitual residence at the time of death (Article 21), even if it is the law of a third State (Article 20);
• in a will, a person may choose the law of a State of which he or she is a national; a person with more than one nationality may choose any of them (Article 22);
• when the applicable law is that of a third State, that State's conflict-of-laws rules may refer to another law (renvoi) (Article 34), unless the law was chosen in a will;
• the court may, at the request of one of the parties, decline to rule on assets located in a third State where the decision would not be recognized (Article 12);
• special rules of the country where certain assets are located, such as real estate or companies, apply regardless of the law governing the succession (Article 30).

From Brazil's perspective

Succession is governed by the law of the country in which the deceased was domiciled (Art. 10 of the LINDB). Inventory proceedings and partition of assets located in Brazil fall to the Brazilian courts, to the exclusion of any other (Art. 23(II) of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC)). Under Complementary Law 227/2026 (Lei Complementar), the ITCMD on assets abroad of a person domiciled in Brazil is due to the State of domicile (Arts. 158(II) and 159), in accordance with state law. In Portugal, Stamp Duty (Imposto do Selo) on gratuitous transfers applies to assets located in Portuguese territory (Art. 4 of the Stamp Duty Code). The taxation of assets located in Equatorial Guinea is a matter of Equatorial Guinean law, to be reviewed by a lawyer licensed in that country.

During one's lifetime, coordinated wills in Brazil, in Portugal and, if necessary, in Equatorial Guinea prevent one from unintentionally revoking the other. See the page on international succession.

Equatorial Guinea is not a party to the Apostille Convention, according to the official Hague Conference status table (updated June 30, 2026).

• For use in Portugal: authentic documents are deemed legalized when the official's signature is authenticated by a Portuguese diplomatic or consular officer in the country of origin (Art. 440 of the Portuguese CPC). Portugal has an embassy with a consular section in Malabo (Embassy of Portugal in Malabo). The only bilateral agreements with Portugal recorded in the Public Prosecutor's Office treaty database are the General Cooperation Agreement (1998) and the Air Transport Agreement (2014). Neither waives legalization. Even without legalization, the document has evidentiary value, but legalization may be required if there are well-founded doubts about its authenticity (Art. 365 of the Civil Code).
• For use in Brazil: without an apostille, the document follows the consular legalization route. Brazil has an embassy in Malabo (Embassy of Brazil in Malabo). We confirm the current procedure with the post before each case.
• Translation: in Portuguese citizenship proceedings, documents in Spanish, French or English do not need translation, unless the registrar or registry officer requires it (Art. 37(2) of the Portuguese Nationality Regulation). In other cases, translation into Portuguese is usually required. In Brazil, recognition of a foreign judgment requires an official translation, unless waived by treaty (Art. 963(V) of the CPC).

In Portugal

The official treaty database of the Public Prosecutor's Office does not record any agreement on judicial cooperation in civil matters between Portugal and Equatorial Guinea, and Itamaraty's Concórdia database does not record any agreement of that kind with Brazil. The general regime therefore applies: a foreign decision on private rights only takes effect in Portugal after it has been reviewed and confirmed (Art. 978 of the Portuguese CPC), by the competent Court of Appeal (Tribunal da Relação) (Art. 979). The requirements include the authenticity and intelligibility of the decision, its being final and unappealable, jurisdiction not obtained in circumvention of the law, proper service of process with adversarial proceedings, and compatibility with the international public policy of the Portuguese State (Art. 980). Review is not required when the decision is used merely as evidence in pending proceedings (Art. 978(2)). See the page on recognition of foreign judgments.

In Brazil

A foreign decision only takes effect in Brazil after recognition by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), unless otherwise provided by law or treaty (Art. 961 of the CPC). Final judicial decisions, and non-judicial decisions that would be jurisdictional in nature under Brazilian law, may be recognized (Art. 961, § 1). The requirements include the jurisdiction of the authority, proper service of process, effectiveness in the country of origin and an official translation (Art. 963). A decision on a matter within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Brazilian courts, such as the partition of assets located in Brazil, is not recognized (Arts. 23 and 964). A foreign judgment of simple uncontested divorce (which only dissolves the marriage) takes effect in Brazil without recognition by the STJ (Art. 961, § 5); if it also decides custody, support or partition, it must be recognized by the STJ (CNJ Provision 149/2023, Art. 464, § 3).

Conversely, a Portuguese or Brazilian decision that needs to take effect in Equatorial Guinea depends on the recognition procedures under local law. In that case, the local procedure must be conducted by a lawyer licensed in Equatorial Guinea, retained by the client; the firm handles the effects in Brazil and Portugal and can coordinate with that lawyer at the client's request.

Sene & Araújo practices Brazilian law and Portuguese law, with offices in São Paulo and Albufeira. The firm does not practice law in Equatorial Guinea and has no lawyers in that country. When a step or an issue depends on Equatorial Guinean law, the local procedure must be conducted by a lawyer licensed in Equatorial Guinea, retained by the client; the firm handles the effects in Brazil and Portugal and can coordinate with that lawyer at the client's request.

1. Assessment: nationalities, residence of each family member, and a map of the assets in each country.
2. Residence in Portugal: choice of route (CPLP, family reunification, investment, or another), preparation of the visa application, and follow-up with AIMA.
3. Portuguese citizenship: calculation of the legal residence period, gathering of evidence, and application to the IRN.
4. Succession: inventory proceedings in Brazil, in court or before a notary, and declaration of heirs and partition in Portugal.
5. Judgments: review and confirmation in Portugal and recognition by the STJ.
6. Documents: certificates, powers of attorney, translations and legalizations for use in Brazil and Portugal.

See also the Other countries page.