"Considering that the revised legislation, approved by 70% of the Deputies, at least addresses the essential concerns of unconstitutionality raised by the President of the Republic and confirmed by the Constitutional Court, the President of the Republic also promulgated the legislation of the Assembly of the Republic amending Law No. 23/2007 of July 4, which approves the legal framework for the entry, stay, departure, and removal of foreigners from the national territory," reads the presidency's website.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa had already revealed that he would announce his decision on the Foreigners' Law today, the day the deadline for a possible appeal to the Constitutional Court expires.

The decree of the Legislative Assembly amends the legal framework for the entry, stay, departure, and removal of foreigners from the national territory.

This new version was approved in plenary session on September 30th with votes in favor from the PSD, CDS-PP, Chega, IL, and JPP, and votes against from the PS, Livre, PCP, BE, and PAN, following the Constitutional Court's rejection in August of five provisions of the previous decree.

The PS, Livre, PCP, BE, and PAN, as well as the sole JPP representative, had voted against the first version, approved on July 16th with votes in favor from the PSD, Chega, and CDS-PP, on which the IL abstained. The decree was drafted based on a bill from the PSD/CDS-PP government and a bill from Chega.

New rules

The new regime limits work-seeking visas to "qualified work," restricts the possibility of family reunification for immigrants to foreigners with residence permits in Portugal—not including refugees—and changes the conditions for granting residence permits to citizens of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP).

On July 24, the President of the Republic submitted the first version of the parliamentary decree to the Constitutional Court, requesting a pre-emptive review of the constitutionality of the rules on the right to family reunification and the conditions for its exercise, the timeframe for reviewing applications by the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA), and the right to appeal.

According to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the changes to family reunification appeared to "disproportionately and unequally restrict the principle of family unity, potentially failing to safeguard the best interests of the child, who is forced to endure prolonged separations."

The Constitutional Court's ruling of August 8 declared five provisions of the parliamentary decree unconstitutional, regarding the right to family reunification and the conditions for its exercise and the right to appeal, for violating constitutional provisions on the right to form a family and cohabitation between parents and children, among others, and the principle of the reservation of law regarding rights, freedoms, and guarantees.

Among the changes introduced in the new decree regarding family reunification, the principle remains that this right can only be exercised by foreign citizens who have held a valid residence permit in Portugal "for at least two years." However, this period does not apply to "minors or incapacitated dependents" or to "the spouse or equivalent, with the holder of the residence permit, parent or adoptive parent of a minor or incapacitated dependent."

To be able to request reunification with a "spouse or equivalent who cohabited with the applicant for at least 18 months in the period immediately prior to the applicant's entry into national territory," a period of "15 months" of legal residence in Portugal is established.

The two-year requirement remains as a condition for requesting reunification with a spouse or equivalent who does not meet these requirements, as well as other family members, adult children, and ascendants who are not incapacitated.

A new rule establishes that this period "may be waived in exceptional, duly substantiated cases, by order of the government official responsible for migration, taking into account the nature and strength of the individual's family ties and the effectiveness of their integration in Portugal, in light of the principles of human dignity and proportionality".