Amendments to the law on foreigners and a new unit in the PSP voted on today in parliament

Changes to the foreigners' law and the creation of the National Foreigners and Borders Unit (UNEF) within the PSP are being voted on today in the Portuguese parliament, with approval secured by the right.

Changes to the legal regime governing the entry, stay, departure and removal of foreigners from national territory were already approved by the Constitutional Affairs Committee on the 11th, with votes against from the left, which alleged violations of the law due to the lack of mandatory opinions.

A government bill and amendments requested by Chega were put to the vote, which concern matters such as family reunification and legal residence times in the country, and were approved by the entire parliamentary right (PSD, CDS-PP, Chega and Iniciativa Liberal).

For family reunification, the right imposes a minimum period of two years for applications to be made after the granting of residence permits, postponing the start of these processes for newly regularized immigrants, something that has been criticized for hindering integration.

Another new feature of this law is the elimination of the possibility of applying for residence permits in national territory – something that citizens of visa-exempt countries such as Brazil or East Timor could resort to – in addition to, from now on, only residence, temporary stay, short-term or job search visas being granted to highly qualified immigrants.

Deputies will also vote on the creation of UNEF, which is the result of a Government proposal, with some changes requested by Chega.

In the parliamentary committee, Chega attempted to change the name of the new unit, but its proposal was rejected, meaning its original project will still be voted on in the plenary.

The remaining wording of the proposal was approved in detail by the PSD, Chega, IL and CDS-PP, with votes against from Livre, and abstentions from PS and PCP, in a vote that did not include the sole deputies from BE, PAN and JPP.

Before the plenary vote, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees will also consider requests for opinions on the third diploma of the legislative package regarding immigration that the Government has prioritized.

These are changes to the Nationality Law, which alters the time limits for access to citizenship for immigrants, provides for the retroactive application of the law, and provides for the withdrawal of Portuguese citizenship from those who commit crimes, something that has been considered unconstitutional by the left and by several constitutionalists.