During a press conference following the Council of Ministers meeting, António Leitão Amaro addressed inquiries about the new immigration law awaiting the President of the Republic’s decision and the concerns expressed by Angola’s President João Lourenço regarding these changes.
The Minister of the Presidency stated that the government would await “with full institutional calm” the decision of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
“The changes align with the Constitution, adhere to, and are within the boundaries of the European directive, including the family reunification regime,” he asserted, emphasizing that these “are indispensable changes to ensure migratory flows are under control.”
Avoiding a direct response to João Lourenço’s remarks, the minister defended the legal changes as necessary to welcome newcomers “with dignity,” paying particular attention to citizens from the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP).
“Until a year or so ago, arriving individuals faced undignified treatment: waiting years for documentation, living, and some still living, in unacceptable housing conditions, with many school children unattended,” he remarked.
Leitão Amaro attributed these issues to previous PS governments, which, in his view, “led to the degradation of immigration policy, lack of entry control, and indignity in the treatment of immigrants, including many from CPLP countries.”
“The even more discriminatory treatment of CPLP citizens is a thing of the past. We have restored dignity, especially for, and with a particular emphasis on, foreign citizens coming from CPLP countries,” he stated.
João Lourenço, arriving today in Lisbon for an official visit, acknowledged “some discomfort” with the proposed immigration changes.
“Indeed, there is some discomfort. Brazil has already had the courage to express this same discomfort. Until now, we have said nothing, but we are closely monitoring the situation,” João Lourenço conveyed in an interview with TVI/CNN Portugal, aired on Tuesday.
“Therefore, the Portuguese have emigrated worldwide, and the minimum we demand is that Portugal does not treat immigrants choosing Portugal as a destination worse than they were treated in the countries that welcomed them over the years,” he emphasized.
Asked if he would address the law in his institutional contacts in Portugal, João Lourenço confirmed he would.
“I think so. Not only us, Angola, have immigrants in Portugal, but in my current capacity as the acting president of the African Union, I must somehow speak for Africans in general. There are quite a few Africans of different nationalities who have chosen Portugal,” he highlighted.
The new regime restricts work search visas to “qualified work”—for individuals with “specialized technical skills,” to be defined later by decree—and limits family reunification for immigrants, granting more rights in this matter to those with certain types of residence permits, like “golden visas.”
Concerning residency permits for citizens from CPLP countries covered by the respective mobility agreement, the new regime requires a prior residency visa—currently, a short-term visa or legal entry into national territory suffices.
The amendments to the foreigners’ legal regime, based on government and Chega party proposals, were approved with votes in favor from PSD, Chega, and CDS-PP, against from PS, Livre, PCP, BE, PAN, and JPP, and IL abstaining.
