José Sena Goulão / LUSA
The Minister of the Presidency, Antônio Leitão Amaro
“You have an ARI, you have a Gold Visa and you have a passport”. Jurists and financiers gave wrong advice and gave false advice to their clients, says António Leitão Amaro.
This Wednesday, the Minister of the Presidency accused jurists and consultants of applying for investment visas, the so-called “Gold Visas“, of having promised access to nationality to their clients.
Antônio Leitão Amaro commented, in the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, the announcement of a process promoted by applicants for Residence Permits due to the extension of the period of access to nationality, regretting the false expectations created.
“We have had many cases of many consultants, jurists and financiers who gave wrong advice and gave false advice to their clients”, saying: “you have an ARI, you have a ‘gold’ visa and you have a passport”.
“But that was never the rulenor in the PS or PSD governments. We always refuse this”, said Leitão Amaro, considering that “there are those who have deceived their customers and are now trying to blame the State”.
About lead of the Constitutional Court to the law that allowed the withdrawal of nationality from citizens of foreign origin, in response to a question from Chega, Leitão Amaro highlighted that any new discussion of the diploma “is up to the parliamentary groups and not the Government”.
With regards to the family reunificationa demand from left-wing parties, Leitão Amaro recalled that Portugal approved “20 thousand cases per year” and only “when the court ordered”, because the “doors were closed” and, this year alone, “55 thousand appointments have already been made, with 35 thousand requests being attended to”.
Num balance of migration policy and at the request of the PS, Leitão Amaro said that half of asylum applications were rejectedbut highlighted that the “relatively limited number” (1,991 requests in 2022, 2,700 in 2023) arises from the fact that there is an expression of interest.
“As Portugal had a system of expression of interest that allowed an uncontrolled concession, people had no need to seek asylum” and, in many cases (40 thousand), they had already made requests for protection in other countries which were refused, he explained.
“Rejections of asylum requests are around 50%” and “we have many rejections because applicants were in an irregular situation and we cannot allow a recall effect like that”, he explained, highlighting the importance of policies that resolve points of irregular entry.
“When the gate was wide open everyone entered through the open gate”, but “when the door closes, they try to get in through the window”, explained the official, who also addressed the politics of other countries.
“We resolved processes and issued 500,000 cards and our choice was not to announce a call”, How did the Spanish government do it?said Leitão Amaro, without directly criticizing the neighboring executive, in response to Rui Rocha, from IL, who questioned the minister about the impact of the announcement of mass regularization of immigrants through Madrid.
