Decree limits employment visas to qualified jobs, restricts family reunification and changes residence rules for citizens of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries
It came into force on this Thursday (23) a new version of the so-called “Foreigners Law”. Law No. 61/2025 was published in the October 22nd edition of the Diário da República and “approves the legal regime for the entry, stay, exit and removal of foreigners from national territory”. The proposal was approved with the support of Chega and the Liberal Initiative, facing opposition from the Socialist Party and other left-wing parties. The “Foreigners Law” establishes the types of visas, residence permits, regularization requirements and criteria for granting citizenship.
The first version of the anti- it was approved by the Assembly of the Republic in July, but was returned by Sousa to Parliament after the Constitutional Court – the highest body of Justice in Portugal – considered five sections unconstitutional. One of the points considered illegal by the court was the possibility of separating foreign couples if one spouse is legal and the other is illegal in the country. For the body, this rule “is incompatible with the protection constitutionally due to the family, in particular the coexistence of spouses, or equivalents, with each other”.
At the end of September, the Assembly of the Republic approved a second version with milder measures, but which will impact the lives of foreigners. With the publication of the new law, procedures for acquiring residence, work or study visas will become more rigorous.
See below some changes and how they impact Brazilians:
– Greater rigor in granting : procedures for acquiring residence, work or study visas have become more rigorous.
– More intense inspection: Brazilians who seek to enter as tourists and later regularize their situation face greater difficulties, as the new law makes it difficult to convert a tourist visa into a residence visa.
– Requirement of proven ties with Portugal: to apply for residence, you must prove real ties with the country, such as having a work contract, being enrolled in a school or having family ties.
– Changes in the citizenship process: the minimum time to apply varies and now includes requirements for cultural integration and proficiency in Portuguese.
*With information from Luca Bassani and Estadão Conteúdo
