Portugal takes a new step towards. The Government, in the hands of the Adservative Coalition, has approved changes in the Law of Nationality, which will harden the granting of Portuguese citizenship to foreigners. So far they could access it who would have resided in the country for five years. From now on the deadline is doubled to ten and, in the case of the natives of Portuguese language countries, it stays in seven years. The term counts from the moment the applicant has obtained the residence permit.
In addition to the extension of the term, the realization of a Portuguese language and culture exam is introduced as a novelty to prove the link with the country. After the Council of Ministers that approved the new norms, the Minister of Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, explained that they suppose a “reinforcement of the demand and the effective relationship to the national community”. “They are essential changes in the times we live,” he said.
The restrictions will also be greater for babies born in Portugal in foreign families. From now on they will not have automatic access to nationality, parents will be required a three -year stay in the country and the express request of citizens. In addition, the special nationalization regime for the descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled from the Iberian Peninsula is repealed centuries ago and that gave rise to how the concession of citizenship to the Russian oligarchs and Andrei Rappopport.
The four norms approved on Monday affect that turn of immigration policy. In just two years, since Luís Montenegro became Prime Minister, the country has gone from being one of the most welcoming of the European Union to try to stop new arrivals and limit the figure of those who were already in the country. The inheritance they had received from the socialist António Costa was chaotic after the extinction of the service of foreigners and borders (SEF), following the death of a Ukrainian at the Lisbon airport while he was interrogated and beaten by agents of that unit. Almost half a million people were pending to regularize their stay in 2024, when the new conservative political cycle began. “There were seven years of uncontrolled immigration,” said Leitão Amaro.
The new agency for the integration of migrations and asylum, poorly endowed with resources, was unable to agility the demand for requests to access the residence permit, which could be chosen with the simple presentation of a declaration of interest. In practice, since 2017, the regularization of any foreigner, a policy that the community authorities saw with bad eyes, since mobility towards other European countries once facilitated the Portuguese residence was facilitated.
Montenegro’s vision of immigrants has been hardening as the extreme right was reinforced in Portugal until it became the second parliamentary force. One of the measures that the government agreed with the ultra -rightist Chega in the first legislature was, except in cases of medical emergency. Since 2019 anyone, whatever their nationality and administrative status, had free access to the National Health System.
In the Council of Ministers on Monday, the creation of a new unit of foreigners and borders was also agreed, which will not be autonomous and will be integrated into the Public Security Police (PSP), to carry out the work that the extinct SEF stopped doing. The Government is confident that the new composition of the Assembly of the Republic, where the deputies of the right total more than 60%, now allow the approval of the law that contemplates the creation of this body, which had been rejected in the previous legislature.
In addition, the Foreigners Law was modified to limit cases of family regrouping to minors who are already within the Portuguese territory and with families with a minimum residence of two years. Measures such as knowledge of the language and continued assistance to school will also be required.
