Portugal Poised to Tighten Immigration Rules as President Signals Green Light

Portugal’s political heart is beating fast again. Parliament has green-lighted a sweeping overhaul of the Lei dos Estrangeiros, and President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has signalled he is "more likely than not" to sign it. Unless the Constitutional Court spots fresh flaws, the country could soon exchange its famously open migration rules for a far tougher playbook.

Presidential Decision Looms

The head of state surprised few observers when he said on 25 September that he would "probably promulgate" the bill if deputies delivered a text that respects constitutional limits. With the new version now passed, his legal team is poring over every article. In practical terms, the Palace has 20 days to decide whether to promulgate, veto or send the law back to the Constitutional Court. Sources close to Belém hint that barring a major red flag, the President prefers to avoid another institutional standoff so soon after August’s constitutional rejection of the previous draft.

What Changes for People Planning to Move?

Travel bloggers have long portrayed Portugal as the easiest European door to walk through. That door just became narrower. The popular "manifestação de interesse", which allowed visitors to enter on a tourist stamp and later regularise status, is gone. Highly qualified professionals, holders of remote-work visas, and investors under the revised Golden Visa rules keep relatively smooth pathways, but everyone else must secure the right document before boarding a plane. Family reunion will demand 2 years of legal residence—except for spouses who can prove 12 months of cohabitation abroad—while the residence card issued to re-united relatives will last just 15 months instead of 3 years. Even citizens of CPLP nations, including Brazil, must now apply for a full residence visa in their homeland rather than regularising after arrival.

Political Chess Behind the Vote

The bill scraped through on the strength of an unusual alliance. PSD, Chega, CDS-PP, Iniciativa Liberal and regional micro-party JPP all voted yes. The Socialists and every party to their left pressed the red button, calling the text "punitive" and warning it will tarnish Portugal’s human-rights record. For Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, the deal with Chega was the price of governing without an outright majority. Chega in turn secured headline concessions—such as the shorter family-reunion card—while dropping its most controversial demand that newcomers contribute 5 years to Social Security before accessing any welfare benefit.

Economic Consequences: Qualified Talent vs. Labour Shortages

Supporters say the country needs a sharper filter. Technology firms fret about vacant senior roles, and hospitals are still 2,000 nurses short. By reserving the job-seeker visa for STEM and health professionals, the cabinet hopes to attract precisely the skills Lisbon and Porto struggle to train locally. Yet construction, agriculture and tourism sectors fear the opposite effect. The farm lobby argues that banning on-shore regularisation will push seasonal pickers into neighbouring Spain, while hotel groups warn of a 10-15% rise in staffing costs if they have to recruit abroad through slower consular channels.

Social Impact and Critics’ Concerns

Immigrant associations accuse lawmakers of trading family unity for short-term political capital. NGOs note that forcing spouses and children to wait abroad could leave them marooned in unsafe environments and jeopardise school enrolment. Legal scholars also flag potential clashes with Article 36 of the Constitution, which protects the family. The Council of Europe’s MIPEX index had ranked Portugal among Europe’s top three integration models; the 2025 edition cautions that the new law may drag the country below the EU average if the harsher rules are implemented without compensating integration measures.

What Happens Next?

If President Rebelo de Sousa signs, the law is expected to be published within days in the Diário da República and take effect 30 days later. The immigration and asylum agency AIMA, already grappling with a backlog topping 300,000 pending files, will need new software, staff and training to enforce biometric border checks and longer security screenings. Foreign residents who applied under the old rules retain their rights, but anyone submitting paperwork after entry into force will be assessed under the stricter regime. The government insists the transition will be smooth; civil-society groups are preparing legal hotlines in case it is not.

If the President decides otherwise—by issuing a political veto or calling the Constitutional Court back into play—the debate will roll on, perhaps into next year. For now, anyone contemplating a move to Portugal would be wise to bookmark the Assembly’s legislation tracker and the Presidency’s official page, both updated almost daily. Those links, in Portuguese, are available at the Assembleia da República and the Presidência.