New Foreigners Law in Portugal: what changes for visas, family reunification, and AIMA processes

The revised Foreigners Law in Portugal has been officially promulgated by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, marking the nineteenth iteration of this crucial legislation. According to Minister Antônio Leiton Amaro, the primary goals of this update involve establishing better regulation for immigration flows and significantly increasing the operational capacity of the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA). This version was adjusted by the government, incorporating support from the Chega party after addressing specific points previously deemed unconstitutional. The law is set to take effect immediately following its publication in the Diário da República, fundamentally altering procedures for work seeker visas, family reunification, and CPLP residency applications.

The Work Seeker Visa is undergoing significant restriction; once the new legislation is published, this visa category will be exclusively reserved for professionals possessing high qualifications. Previously, this visa represented a highly democratic entry route, not demanding specific qualifications, experience, or formal training, allowing holders to seek employment in virtually any field upon arrival. Now, permitted professions will be explicitly detailed in a joint ordinance issued by the Ministries of Labor, Foreign Affairs, and Internal Administration. This change intends to curb the influx of immigrants arriving without concrete, formal job offers.

According to Minister Antônio Leiton Amaro, this type of visa had become, open quotes, a way to enter the country to see what happens. Close quotes.

It is important to note that for these high-qualification roles, recognition of foreign diplomas and registration with the relevant professional orders remain mandatory procedures in Portugal, presenting a significant hurdle for many qualified professionals from Brazil and other CPLP nations. Furthermore, information suggests the forthcoming list might not solely focus on university-level qualifications but could also incorporate specific technical-level roles, pending the official publication of the decree.

A significant procedural shift involves the cessation of the ability to apply for the CPLP residence title while physically present within Portuguese territory, especially for individuals who entered under tourist status from community countries. This regularization route, which often required judicial intervention previously, is now closed. The CPLP title can only be requested by those entering with a valid residence visa. While Brazilian and Timorese citizens do not require a Schengen visa to enter as tourists, this entry status can no longer be converted into a CPLP residence authorization.

The government arrived at considering permitting this request within the country, but backed down. This could turn into a light manifestation of interest, something the current executive wanted to eliminate.

This closure effectively shuts down one of the most utilized pathways for CPLP immigrants, particularly Brazilians, to regularize their status after arriving legally as tourists. It is crucial to remember that the supposed online portal application for RCPLP, once hinted at by the previous administration, never became operational under the current government structure. Other visa categories, such as study visas, D7, and D1 visas for those arriving with employment contracts, remain unaffected by these specific changes.

The new regulations also impose stricter conditions on family reunification requests. Specifically, couples without dependent children must now demonstrate at least fifteen months of legal residence in Portugal before the principal title holder can apply to bring their spouse to the country. A new legal stipulation grants AIMA a maximum timeframe of nine months to issue a response regarding these reunification applications. However, if the couple has minor or legally incapacitated children, the request for reunification of dependents and the spouse can be initiated immediately, irrespective of the principal holder's residency duration.

The government justifies the nine-month response expectation by noting that AIMA's historical inefficiency often resulted in similar delays anyway, framing the update as providing realistic expectations. Currently, over 24,000 family reunification requests are stalled within AIMA, with many resolutions historically requiring judicial intervention due to AIMA's inability to schedule appointments consistently.

A major alteration targets the legal recourse available against AIMA, aiming to curb the approximately 133,000 existing judicial actions filed against the agency. Previously, the mere absence of a response from the immigration body was sufficient grounds for an individual to file a lawsuit. Under the new framework, an emigrant must now demonstrate that the administrative delay directly and severely compromises the exercise of fundamental rights to successfully initiate judicial proceedings. Judges may also consider AIMA's documented lack of human and material resources when evaluating scheduling requests.

This measure seeks to prevent what the administration terms an 'abuse of urgent judicial oversight.' While AIMA maintains a nine-month period to respond to renewable residency applications, extensions beyond this term are only permissible under exceptional circumstances. This regulatory shift fundamentally changes the leverage immigrants possess when facing bureaucratic stagnation.

The promulgation of the new foreigners law signals a definitive turn in Portugal's migratory policy, prioritizing control over the entry of new immigrants and reorganizing existing bureaucratic structures. However, it remains uncertain whether these changes address the core problem: the inherent slowness and massive accumulation of unprocessed cases within AIMA, leaving thousands awaiting decisions on renewals and authorizations. The impact will be felt by both future movers and current residents.

There is speculation that if labor shortages intensify, the government might ease restrictions again by releasing new access points or updating the professional ordinance. Some ministerial commentary suggests that sectors critically needing labor, such as hospitality and restoration, might be included in the qualified professions list, even if they do not demand extensive formal qualifications or experience. Future attention is expected to shift towards forthcoming changes in nationality law and potential solutions for existing renewal backlogs.