The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, promulgated the Foreigners Law, according to information released today on the presidency’s website.
In the note, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa considers that the diploma, reviewed and approved by 70% of deputies, “corresponds minimally to the essence of the doubts of unconstitutionality raised by him and confirmed by the Constitutional Court.”
The decree of the Assembly of the Republic alters the legal framework governing the entry, stay, exit, and removal of foreigners from the national territory.
This new version was approved in plenary on the 30th of September, with votes in favour of PSD, CDS-PP, Chega, IL, and JPP, and votes against from PS, Livre, PCP, BE, and PAN, following the Constitutional Court’s lead in August to five norms of the previous decree.
PS, Livre, PCP, BE, PAN, and the sole deputy of the JPP had voted against the first version, approved on the 16th of July, with votes in favour of PSD, Chega, and CDS-PP, in relation to which IL abstained. The decree was drawn up from a draft law by the PSD/CDS-PP Government and a bill by Chega.
The new regime limits visas from “looking for work” to “qualified work,” restricts the possibility of family reunification of immigrants of foreigners with a residence permit in Portugal – not covering refugees – and changes the conditions for granting residence permits to citizens of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP).
On the 24th of July, the President of the Republic submitted the first version of the parliament’s decree to the Constitutional Court, requesting a preventive review of the constitutionality of the rules on the right to family reunification and conditions for its exercise, on the deadline for consideration of applications by the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) and the right to appeal.
According to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the changes in terms of family reunification seemed to “restrict, disproportionately and unequally, the principle of family unity, and may not safeguard the best interests of the child, forced to deal with prolonged separations.”
On the 8th of August, the Constitutional Court ruled that five provisions of the parliament’s decree on family reunification rights, conditions for their exercise, and the right to appeal were unconstitutional. The court found these provisions violated constitutional norms regarding the right to form a family, parental and child coexistence, and the principle of legal reservation in matters of rights, freedoms, and guarantees.
Among the changes introduced in the new decree, regarding family reunification, the principle that this right can only be exercised by foreign citizens who have a valid residence permit in Portugal “for at least two years” is maintained, but this period does not apply to “minors or dependently incapacitated” or to the “spouse or equivalent person, with the holder of a residence permit, parent or adopter of a dependent minor or incapacitated minor.”
To be able to request reunification with the “spouse or equivalent who has cohabited with the holder for at least 18 months in the period immediately before the latter’s entry into national territory,” a period of “15 months” of legal residence in Portugal is established.
The two years remain as a condition for requesting reunification with the spouse or equivalent who does not meet those requirements, as well as the other family members, adult children, and ascendants who are not incapacitated.
A new rule establishes that this period “may be waived in exceptional cases duly justified, by order of the member of the Government responsible for the area of migration, taking into account the nature and solidity of the person’s family ties and the effectiveness of their integration in Portugal, in the light of the principles of human dignity and proportionality.”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
Photo: JM
