Portuguese Bill Tightening Immigration Awaits President's Action

Currently, family reunification residence permits can be requested by holders of residence permits for relatives living in Portugal or abroad. "There is no requirement for a minimum period of dependency or cohabitation, nor for minor children in the household," explained Emellin de Oliveira, a lawyer at Lisbon's Paxlegal. The amended Foreigners' Bill restricts family reunification. (Photo from Pixabay)

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Four years ago, economists and demographers spoke out about how to save Portugal and its aging population from "demographic suicide". They called for concrete policies to create jobs and higher pay to keep the young in the country as well as attract immigrants, who broke records on taxes, births and citizenship.

“Portugal is facing a perfect storm with very few births and a level of departures of Portuguese which is still substantial,” said João Peixote, a professor at the Lisbon School of Economics and Management, in Expresso (December 18, 2021). “Despite everything, we are managing to attract foreigners. Without them, the whole country would be in a situation of demographic suicide as is already happening in some regions of the Interior.”

João Peixote and his colleagues stressed that it was not enough to have positive rates of immigration. Portugal needed to stem the departure of young people. According to a survey by the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation, released in November 2021, one-third of young people intended to leave the country.

Currently, Portugal's population is 10.7 million, according to the National Statistics Institute, of which more than 1.5 million are foreign citizens, according to the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA).

The changes needed to keep the young here are not superficial ones; they are structural, such as increasing productivity by reducing bureaucracy.

Miguel St. Aubyn was professor of Lisbon School of Economics and Management (ISEG) and a member of the Conselho das Finanças Públicas (CFP), which is the independent body of the state, created in 2011, to assess the sustainability of fiscal policy.

The economist offered proposals for the State in Expresso (December 23, 2021): long-term planning, including investment; improving the efficiency of the judicial and the fiscal system; better qualifications of the active population; a housing policy; a more equitable distribution of income; and the provision of an adequate safety net in which private activity develops, investing productively and creating wealth.

One thing is for certain, Ricardo Paes Mamede, professor at Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE), said:

"There is no silver bullet. If someone comes to you with one or two of these measures, saying that they will solve the problems, he is either naive or he is lying."

So, four years later, Portugal is faced with perceptions of immigrants and immigration exploited by political opportunists.

Chega, founded in 2019, embodies characteristics of 21st-century far-right groups: nativism, authoritarianism, and populism, according to Foreign Policy (January 26, 2021). André Ventura sowed the seeds of his political career by targeting the Roma (Romani), or ciganos, and demonizing the poor, touting the necessity for law and order, and adopting an anti-establishment stance.

Chega's rhetoric is colorful and passionate, but it is light on practicalities. It says it plans to reduce corruption, streamline government and bring justice, but it does not say how.

In this year's national election, Chega won 60 out of 230 seats, overtaking the Socialist Party's tally of 58 seats to achieve second place. The Democratic Alliance (AD) -- composed of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the CDS -- People's Party (CDS-PP) and the People's Monarchist Party (PPM) -- won the largest number of seats -- 91.

The focus has changed in government.

The Amended Bill

Days ago, on September 30, the Assembleia da República approved an amended Lei de Estrangeiros (Foreigners' Law), an immigration-tightening bill. In August, a previous bill was found by the Constitutional Court to have five unconstitutional provisions, almost all of them related to the tightening of the right to family reunification, reported Expresso (September 24). President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa vetoed the previous version and returned it to Parliament.

In a related area, the government's amended Nationality Bill had been expected to come to a vote by the Assembleia da República in September. However, it has not come to the floor as yet. The bill increases the minimum years of residence required for Portuguese citizenship, rescinds citizenship of those convicted of serious crimes and revokes naturalization based on descent from Sephardic Jews.

The Foreigners' Bill does not directly affect European Union citizens by restricting their rights to free movement within the European Union. The bill primarily governs the entry, stay and residence of third-country nationals (non-EU citizens) in Portugal. EU citizens already possess the right to work and live in Portugal for longer than three months, provided they meet certain basic conditions, according to the European Commission.

Minister of the Presidency António Leitão Amaro, who presented the Foreigners' decree, made clear his preference for the previous version.

"This is not the original law, but it serves the purpose of regulating immigration," he said, reported Expresso (September 30).

Although the Social Democratic Party (PSD) executive was in negotiations with the Socialists (PS) "until the last moment", the "understanding" ended up being made on the right, with Chega, reported País ao Minuto (October 1).

The new text resulted from amendments proposed mostly by the PSD and CDS. Three amendments proposed by Chega and one by PS also made up the proposed legislation, reported ECO (October 1).

The bill still needs to be signed by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who faces a 20-day deadline after he receives the decree unless he once again requests a review from the Constitutional Court. He has veto power with or without consulting the Court.

Family Reunification

The new version restricts family reunification, sets a 90-day deadline, compared to the current 30 days, for AIMA (Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum) deciding on a family-reunification case, tightens the criteria for renewing residence permits and, in the case of bilateral agreements, the conditions for immigrant entry may be more favorable, reported ECO (Economia Online) (October 1).

As currently in effect, family reunification residence permits can be requested by holders of residence permits for relatives living in Portugal or abroad. "There is no requirement for a minimum period of dependency or cohabitation, nor for minor children in the household," explained Emellin de Oliveira, a lawyer at Lisbon's Paxlegal, explained to ECO (October 1).

In the amended version, the two-year wait, declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court, is eliminated for spouses or de facto partners, provided there are minor children in the household. For other family members, the limitation has been reduced to one year.

Those who remain exempt from any residence period are holders of residence permits authorized under Articles 90 (teaching, highly qualified or cultural activity) 90-A (investment) and 121-A (EU Blue Card, which is a residence and work permit for highly qualified non-European citizens who wish to live and work in the European Union).

A nuance introduced by Chega establishes a minimum 15-month residence permit for the spouse or partner for reunification, provided they have cohabited with the applicant for at least 18 months (not 12 months as specified by the previous version) outside of Portugal, provided there are no minors or dependent incapacitated individuals. The new version requires that marriages or partnerships be effective, valid and recognized under Portuguese law, that is neither forced, nor with minors, nor polygamous.

Currently, to be eligible for family reunification, the applicant needs to prove that they have "accommodation". The amended bill requires the existence of "accommodation, demonstrably owned or rented, considered normal for a comparable family in the same region of the country, and which meets general safety and health standards, as defined by order issued by the government officials responsible for migration and housing".

Chega dropped a requirement that the applicant must demonstrate "means of subsistence at the time of the application, as well as for the subsequent five years".

Thus, the current wording remains, requiring only proof that the immigrant has "means of subsistence", but social benefits are not included in the calculation.

What Immigrants Contribute to Social Security

Also, André Ventura had imposed a condition, which he dropped, requiring immigrants to contribute five years to Social Security before being able to apply for social benefits, reported SAPO, SIC Notícias (September 30).

Data provided by the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security show that foreign workers' contributions to Portugal's social security system already are sufficient to fund 17 percent of national pensions and retirement, according to the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission (January 16).

In 2023, the Portuguese social security system disbursed 15.8 billion euros in benefits, with immigrants injecting 2.7 billion euros into that system.

The participation of foreign workers in the financing process of Portugal's social security system has been steadily growing year after year. According to Pedro Góis, professor of Economics at the University of Coimbra and technical director of the Observatory of Migration, immigrants' participation is fundamental to maintaining the sustainability of the system.

Brazilian and Other CPLP Citizens Lose Rights

The amended bill also removes rights from immigrants from the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), reported Público Brasil (September 30). It reduces the ability of CPLP citizens to enter Portugal as tourists and, once in Portuguese territory, apply for a residence permit.

The founding members of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP) were Angola, Brasil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, and São Tomé and Príncipe in 1996. East Timor joined in 2002, after achieving independence, and Equatorial Guinea joined in 2014.

The bill also establishes that only highly qualified individuals can obtain a work-seeking visa at Portuguese consulates. Brazilians, who make up the largest foreign community at about 500,000, are the ones who most frequently apply for these work-seeking visas.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 2024, 32,000 work visas were granted by the Portuguese consular network, 40 percent (about 13,000) of which were to Brazilian citizens, reported BBC News Brasil (October 1).

Those who fail to find work in Portugal within the allotted time frame would be required to return to their countries of origin. A visa permit would be issued for a return to Portugal only after one year.

The Socialist Party (PS) proposed bilateral agreements allowing workers to enter Portugal for sectors that do not require highly qualified workers, such as agriculture, construction, restaurants and tourism, according to Público Brasil (September 30).

The amendment from the Socialist Party (PS) allows for more favorable conditions for family reunification, where there are bilateral agreements, according to ECO (Economia Online) (October 1).

The rule states that "the Government promotes the negotiation and conclusion of third-country (non-European Union) bilateral agreements with countries with a view to streamlining policies for issuing visas and granting residence permits, which ensure the mobility of workers who meet the needs of strategic sectors of the economy, ensuring the provision of information, channels for their recruitment, and training and teaching of the Portuguese language prior to their entry into national territory, facilitating their integration and labor protection."

Integration Measures

The Constitutional Court also had demanded clarification on integration measures.

"It says the rule is vague and needs to be clarified, and we have done so," said Minister António Leitão Amaro, according to Expresso (September 24). He listed a range of measures, such as Portuguese language training, Portuguese culture and constitutional values.

"This obligation must be taken seriously. If it is not fulfilled, there is no right to renewal during the period of the family reunification residence permit, with due exceptions."

Immigrants' Appeals to Courts

The Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) now has a nine-month deadline -- longer than the current three months -- to respond to family reunification requests. In the new version, the extension of this period only can happen "in exceptional circumstances" related to the analysis of the request, reported BBC News Brasil (October 1). Furthermore, the applicants needs to be informed about this extension.

Emellin de Oliveira, the lawyer at Paxlegal, said to ECO:

"The nine-month deadline for deciding on requests also may spark debate, but this limited extension, especially in cases involving minors, demonstrates a greater concern for the best interests of the child, which was absent in the previous version."

The government tried to make it more difficult for immigrants to access the courts in order to speed up the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) process, but it had to rewrite the text after the Constitutional Court's scrutiny.

Immigrants now are permitted to file a lawsuit against the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA).

The immigrant needs to prove that the lack of responses from the agency "compromises, in a demonstrably serious and direct manner, the timely exercise of personal rights, freedoms and guarantees, the protection of which cannot be effectively ensured through the available precautionary measures", reported BBC News Brasil.

Two Contrasting Views

During the debate, Leitão Amaro emphasized that the new bill "restricts flows, balancing immigration with responsibility and humanism", reported Público Brasil. He argued that the bill is moderate.

"This is an irrefutable bill for any moderate and common-sense party. Today is the time for choices. History will judge who approves or rejects the law."

The president of Solidariedade Imigrante, the country's largest immigrant association, argued that the new foreigners' bill harms the country's development and undermines the rights of the poorest, reported Euro News (October 1).

"This bill is useless," Timóteo Macedo told Lusa. "It doesn't serve the country. It doesn't serve economic development, nor does it serve to ensure that the human rights of immigrants are respected."

The leader maintained that the bill contains unconstitutional amendments such as restricting family reunification to spouses and descendants.

He also criticized the bill's exceptions for those with investment authorizations, thereby creating "several tiers" among immigrants.

This bill creates "class division, that is, rich immigrants have all the benefits and immigrants who work and produce wealth for the well-being of society, the poor, are harmed."

The Vote

The vote in the Assembleia da República resulted in 160 votes in favor of Luís Montenegro's government proposals, and 70 against.

In total, representatives of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Chega, the Liberal Initiative (IL), and the Social Democratic Center — People's Party (CDS-PP) supported the immigration-tightening package. Opposing the legislative changes were the Socialist Party (PS), the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), the Left Bloc, the People, Animals, and Nature Party (PAN), and the Together for the People (JPP).