Currently, Timorese and Brazilian citizens can enter Portugal as tourists without a visa and later request a residence permit. For other citizens of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), a tourist visa is required upon entry before applying for residence permits.
The new foreign nationals law, approved today with votes from PSD, Chega, and CDS, abstention from IL, and opposition from the left, mandates that all work visas must be applied for in the countries of origin.
If promulgated by the President of the Republic, this law will require all CPLP citizens to obtain a visa to enter Portugal, even for tourism.
This development comes in a week when a CPLP summit is being held in Bissau, where a mobility agreement signed by Portugal is in effect. The new foreign nationals law adds further constraints for those seeking Portugal as a migration destination.
The new legislation states that “if the applicant is covered by the CPLP Agreement and holds a residence visa, they can request a temporary residence permit,” allowing Lusophone citizens with a residence visa to apply for a CPLP residence permit in Portugal through AIMA [Agency for Integration, Migrations and Asylum].
In practice, Lusophone immigrants will need to apply for a Portuguese entry visa at consulates and will be covered by the mobility agreement only thereafter.
Frequent complaints have been made regarding delays at Portuguese consulates, despite government efforts to reinforce staffing.
This marks the 18th amendment to the 2007 law governing the “Entry, Stay, Exit, and Removal of Foreign Nationals from the National Territory,” with the government instituting new rules for family reunification, not distinguishing Lusophone citizens from others.
If there are no minor children involved, a “citizen with a valid residence permit who has legally resided in the national territory for at least two years is entitled to family reunification with family members outside the national territory,” according to the legislation.
This measure effectively delays the family reunification requests of over 300,000 immigrants who obtained residence permits through expressions of interest, a legal avenue allowing those arriving in Portugal on a tourist visa to regularize their status, for another two years.
The Lusophone citizens are also affected, as previous CPLP permits only allowed stay within Portugal, while new permits include the Schengen area.
To complete the reunification process, applicants must provide “adequate accommodation, either owned or rented, suitable for a comparable family in the same region meeting general safety and health standards” and “sufficient means of subsistence to support themselves and their family members without resorting to social assistance.”
The only foreigners benefiting from this legislative package are highly skilled immigrants, who now have exclusive access to job search visas, and holders of Residence Permits for Investment (golden visas), who can request family reunification without the two-year wait required for others.
The job search visa must be scheduled within 120 days and “grants the applicant the right to request a residence permit after starting professional activity within this period, provided the general conditions are met,” the legislation states.
