“I don’t know if we will reach a consensus or not, I don’t know if there will be an understanding, but one thing is clear to us, and I want to make it clear to the Government. If Portuguese nationality is not revoked for those who commit terrorism and rape crimes, we are out of this scenario,” he stated.
In statements to journalists at the Assembly of the Republic, the Chega leader warned that this “is a decisive point.”
“This is truly a red line, that those who commit serious crimes in Portugal after obtaining Portuguese nationality, crimes against the State, crimes against the Portuguese, cannot continue to be Portuguese,” he argued.
“The Government refuses an immediate loss of nationality arising from the practice of certain crimes, and we want that to happen,” he emphasized.
For Chega, this issue cannot depend on the decision of a court and “it makes no sense to be in the Penal Code and not in the Nationality Law.”
“That’s just talk from the PSD to entertain,” he criticized.
André Ventura also acknowledged that this “is a matter that may raise constitutional questions,” but noted that the prohibition of wearing burqas in public spaces “also may and the PSD voted in favor.”
The Chega leader stated that it is about “asserting a value.”
“The Court will be there to make its analysis and clarity regarding the diplomas we present, but our concern is to assert the values we believe in here and that we think should regulate the law, and we believe the law should regulate the loss of nationality for a terrorist,” he upheld.
André Ventura said another “unreachable point” is that those who apply for Portuguese nationality should not be “dependent on any type of Social Security support” when applying.
“There, I think a path is being made to eventually have an independent diploma, but this is an important issue, that those who obtain nationality do not do so depending on subsidies,” he said.
The Chega president noted that “negotiations between the parliamentary groups continued overnight,” but “it was not yet possible to reach any agreement or consensus.”
André Ventura warned that regarding the regime for the CPLP, there must be “some control, to ensure that those who come and obtain Portuguese nationality do so meeting certain requirements, and that Portuguese nationality is not for sale, that nationality is not obtained after a few months or after two years.”
Chega also wants those who obtained Portuguese nationality “fraudulently” not to be able to recover it and admitted this is another “divergence” with the Government and PSD, who “believe that, after a while, this irregularity can be remedied.”
“For us, those who obtain nationality with false documents or through fraudulent declarations can never have that nationality consolidated in the national legal space,” he defended.
With the PSD parliamentary leader listening, André Ventura acknowledged that “the PSD is making an effort to smooth some things,” but warned that there are points that for Chega are “insurmountable.”
Ventura indicated that there has already been “an approach” regarding the criteria for applying for nationality, preventing those sentenced to more than four years from doing so.
“This is a matter of values and correcting a structural error in this Nationality Law, which I hope can still be possible by Thursday, unless the PSD has already reached an understanding with the Socialist Party, and then we will have the worst Nationality Law in the world,” he argued.
[News updated at 5:19 PM]
