These days, people from all over the world are moving to Portugal – particularly from countries like the US, UK, Brazil, and further afield. And increasingly, many of the enquiries that come through to Portugalist are from Jewish people who want to start a new life here.
If you’re Jewish and looking to move to Europe, you may be wondering whether Portugal is right for you.
Is it safe? Are there Jewish communities or neighborhoods? Does Portugal still offer citizenship for Sephardic Jews?
These are some of the questions Portugalist gets asked on a regular basis and thankfully, tour guide Paolo Scheffer was kind enough to provide answers. Paolo is the only authorized Jewish guide in Portugal, and his tours (including one about Jewish Lisbon) can be found at Lisbon Explorer.
Does Portugal have a significant Jewish population?
Estimating the number of Jews in Portugal is challenging. According to the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, Portugal’s Jewish population is estimated to be between 3,100 and 6,500, depending on how the population is defined. In short, don’t expect to find a large Jewish community like you would in New York, London, or Los Angeles.
Can I move to Portugal?
Portugal continues to operate a route to citizenship for those with Sephardic Jewish heritage. If you meet the requirements, this takes around two years to process after which point you will have a Portuguese passport, enabling you to move to Portugal or anywhere else in the EU/EEA and Switzerland.
However, as discussed, obtaining citizenship through this route has become more complicated. Even though it can still offer a faster route to citizenship, most people find they need to move through one of the standard residency visa routes.
Thankfully, Portugal has some of the most attainable visas in the EU. Of these, some of the most popular are:
- The D7: Aimed at those with a passive income (such as a pension, US social security, or rental income) that’s equal to at least €870 per month as of 2025.
- The “Digital Nomad Visa”: Aimed at those who can work remotely or freelance or earn an income from outside of Portugal while living here. As of 2025, applicants will need to show an income of at least €3,480 per month.
- The Golden Visa: Aimed at those with significant cash to invest, the golden visa offers residency in Portugal in return for an investment (typically €500k or more) or donation (typically €250k). One major feature of the golden visa is that permit holders only need to spend an average of 7 days per year in Portugal, allowing them to maintain residency elsewhere. This makes the golden visa ideal for those that aren’t ready to move to Portugal just yet, but want a “backup plan” in case they do want to live here.
Note: these figures are for an individual. Couples and families will have different requirements. A full list of visas, including those for students and employees, can be found on our visas guide page.
Where to Live
Those with a Jewish background can live anywhere they want in Portugal, just like anyone else. Of course, some may want to be within walking distance of synagogues, to have access to a Minyan, and to be able to take advantage of Jewish bakeries and Kosher restaurants.
Because of this, Lisbon and Porto are typically the first two choices.
Lisbon
Given it’s the capital, Lisbon is normally the first consideration for Jewish people considering a move to Portugal.
Orthodox Jewish
Lisbon’s Shaaré-Tikvá Synagogue was built in 1904 by Moroccan Jews. The community has struggled in previous years with attendance numbers to form a Minyan unless there is a cruise ship in the port.
Keeping a Rabbi on staff for more than a year was also challenging for the Lisbon Shaaré-Tikvá community. However, in recent years, the community has a Rabbi and a Jewish Community Centre has even reopened.
Chabad sent a Shliach and Shlucha (emissaries) to Lisbon over 12 years ago. Rabbi Eli and his wife Raizel Rosenfeld arrived in Lisbon, but within a few years, they found a home for their outreach, 30 minutes west of Lisbon in the scenic medieval fishing village of Cascais.
The Avner Cohen Casa Chabad was scheduled to open just as COVID lockdowns were mandated and so was initially delayed. The services are well attended, and their previous Passover had over 400 participants in a Seder on the first night alone.
Reform or Progressive Jewish Communities
Ohel Yaakov Reform Shtiebl (a small Synagogue in a home) is in a small apartment on the North end of Lisbon, initially created by WWII refugees who came to Portugal.
Despite closing for almost 18 years, it has recently reopened. Rabina Alona Lisitsa leads the Ohel Yaakov community part-time when she is not in Israel.
Restaurants & Shops
Genesis Lisboa
Genesis Lisboa opened in 2024 and has Kosher supervision under Rabbanim of Lisbon, Rabbi Suiza, and Rabbi Rosenfeld with Chabad. The menu is Middle Eastern and Israeli cuisine, offering various dishes catering to meat eaters and vegetarians.
It includes fresh salads and a selection of house salads with pita. Signature dishes include “Genesis Hummus” and “Eggplants on a Fire.” Meat specialties include “Mama Shnizel” and Israeli Shawarma, alongside vegetarian options like Moroccan cous—desserts and beverages like Halva and Arak Lemonade round out the dining experience.
PORTUEL
PORTUEL is located in the center of Lisbon, a 6-minute walk from Picoas Metro Station. At PORTUEL, you can find various packaged food products for cooking, such as meat and poultry through kosher slaughtering, and culinary products like legumes, spices, and sauces. You can also find sweet and savory snacks, kosher cakes, cold salads, instant soups, salami, and packed pastrami.
All products sold at PORTUEL are kosher and kosher certificates can be found for all products on our website. Some of the products are produced in Israel, and others are made in Europe, always under the supervision of local Rabbis.
Kosher In Portugal
Kosher In Portugal is a small Lisbon shop that sells a small selection of specialty items and snacks. The food selection, which includes kosher wine, is quite small and shouldn’t be relied upon for a complete shop.
One of the wines available, Felix Rocha Kosher Red Wine, is produced in Portugal’s Lisboa wine region.
El Corte Ingles
El Corte Inglés has a small Kosher section of prepared food, but no fresh bread. A taxi ride from the historic center will only cost you about €6, and there is a metro stop called São Sebastião right in the basement of El Corte Inglés.
Liberty American Store
Some of the products at Liberty American Store, which is mostly made up of US imports of packaged and processed foods, have the Hekhsher symbol. However, the focus of the store is imported American products rather than specifically kosher products.
GB Store
The GB Store in Cascais sells some imported products from the UK, some of which is Kosher-certified. Again the focus is not kosher products, but imported British food products such as tea, baked beans, and frozen foods.
Porto
Although most Jewish people moving to Portugal initially consider Lisbon, it is Porto rather than the capital that has seen significant growth.
Orthodox Communities
In Porto, the Mekor H’aim Synagogue, often called the Kadoorie Synagogue because of the generous donation by the Kadoorie family, has watched their community grow enormously since 2015. Its growth has largely been the result of many Turkish and French Jews escaping the antisemitic threats that began escalating again in their home countries around 2014. Due to size of the community, they have no problem forming a Minyan.
The Mekor H’aim Synagogue now has two Rabbis (Sephardic and Azikiniazi) and a feature film about its history, Sefarad. According to Wikipedia, this is the largest physical Synagogue in the Iberian Peninsula and the largest Jewish congregation on the Iberian Peninsula. This is despite Spain having a Jewish population of around 40,000 and 45,000 members – significantly higher than the Jewish population in Portugal.
Reform or Progressive Jewish Communities
In Porto, a recently emerging Progressive Jewish community consists mostly of ex-pats from the US. The HaMakom Progressive Jewish community does not have a Synagogue. It meets and hosts holiday events at different venues around Porto.
Restaurants & Shops
Iberia Porto
Iberia Porto offers sit-down strict Kosher meals from Monday to Thursday. Catering is also available as is takeaway Shabbat meals, which need to be ordered in advance. The menu is a mixture of Middle Eastern dishes like Hummus Basar and international dishes like lasagne and burgers.
Hotel da Música
Hotel da Música offers kosher meals, which have to be ordered in advance. It also has a small kosher market and is around a 15-minute walk from the synagogue.
Algarve
Since 2019, the Jewish Community Algarve has been re-establishing the ever-Jewish presence in the Algarve, Southern Portugal. In January 2022, The Jewish Community of the Algarve (JCA) was officially registered as the 4th Jewish Community in Portugal. The Ezra & Sassoon Synagogue of the Algarve, which is located in Albufeira, has an Ehal and an old Torah scroll. Services and Shabbath dinners are held regularly.
According to its website, the JCA offers a unique, young & dynamic atmosphere while combining religious & social activities. The Algarve is home to many Jewish families who have immigrated to this part of the world from the US, France, Israel, South Africa, and many from the UK, giving the Community the blessing of various backgrounds. The cooperation and support of Rabbi Eli Rosenfeld (Cascais) and Rabbi Yoel Zekri (Porto) reinforce their community on regular visits.
Not far from the Synagogue, there is a Kosher shop, Ezra´s Kosher Market, and even a catering service that provides delicious certified Kosher meals for Shabbath and weekdays.
Belmonte
The Jewish community in Belmonte dates back to the 13th century. The community was made up of Spanish and Portuguese Jews who kept their faith through crypto-Judaism.
However, although there is a synagogue, Jewish museum and a Jewish internet radio station, Rádio Judaica Portuguesa, the Jewish community here is quite small – estimates put it at around 70 people. It’s also, unsurprisingly, an incredibly close-knit community given that the families were tied together for centuries.
Citizenship
In 2015, the Portuguese government enacted 30-A/2015 which meant that descendants of Sephardic Jews could apply for Portuguese citizenship. This was an attempt to right the wrongs suffered by the expulsion of Sephardic Jews. Spain had a similar program, but officially stopped accepting new applications in 2019. While this was reportedly to clear a backlog, the NY Times reports that by 2021, many applications were being rejected. The program has not reopened.
It has previously been reported that Portugal may end its program in the future as although more than 60,000 passports have been issued, only a few hundred have actually moved to Portugal.
However, even though Portugal has not ended its program, obtaining citizenship through this program is no longer as easy as it once was. Following a news story about abuse of the program, the Portuguese government tightened the criteria.
Now, to meet the requirements, you not only have to meet the original requirements – for example, use of the Ladino language within your family or a family name connected with Sephardic ancestry – but you also need to show evidence of ties to Portugal. Examples include regular trips to Portugal throughout your life or real estate in Portugal. However, given that most Sephardic Jews fled Portugal, it isn’t surprising that many people are unable to meet these new requirements.
Some lawyers suggest moving to Portugal on another residency visa, such as the D7 or “digital nomad visa,” establishing ties here, and then applying for citizenship after around three years. This is slightly faster than the standard five years required for citizenship through naturalization which means although this route is more complicated, it offers those with Sephardic ancestry a faster route to citizenship than the average person. As always, it’s a good idea to seek legal advice on the best way to pursue this.
Safety
Understandably, a major consider for Jewish people moving anywhere in the world is safety. Thankfully, Portugal is generally considered a safe place for people of all backgrounds and ethnicities to live.
Of course, nowhere is without prejudice of some kind, including antisemitism. That said, writing in 2019, Andrew Srulevitch, ADL’s Director of European Affairs, says, “for Jews seeking a European haven from anti-Semitism, Portugal should top their list…in Portugal, you can count vandalism incidents of the past years on one hand, along with some anti-Semitic cartoons, and a few anti-Semitic statements by far-left politicians.”
ADL’s 2014 Global 100 survey of anti-Semitic attitudes found that anti-Semitic attitudes in Portugal were 20 percent lower than the European Union average and almost a third lower than in neighboring Spain.
However, a scandal in the Porto synagogue (which the synagogue claims the Portuguese government fabricated) and the Israel-Palestine war has unsurprisingly caused resentment. Yet, unlike other countries, where antisemitism has lead to violence and fatalities, the backlash has largely been limited to “free Palestine” graffiti on the outside gate of the Kadoorie Mekor Haim Synagogue in Porto. Protesters at a demonstration against the rising cost of housing in Porto, also instructed people “not to rent a house from Zionist murderers,” according to the Jerusalem Post.
The situation was condemned by Israel’s ambassador to Portugal, Dor Shapira, who said that he “supports free speech, but these demonstrations are exploited to spread anti-Semitic, racist and hateful ideas.”
There have been a number of other protests against the rising costs of housing in Portugal, but where groups of people have been called out, this has typically been digital nomads and golden visa holders instead.
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