{"id":2897,"date":"2026-01-13T16:46:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T16:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rosarioduarte.pt\/lei-da-imigracao-2\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T17:25:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T17:25:22","slug":"lei-da-imigracao-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rosarioduarte.pt\/en\/lei-da-imigracao-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Immigration Law"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is the purpose of the new immigration law amendment?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new amendment to immigration law, introduced by Law No. 61\/2025 of 22 October, changes the rules governing the entry, stay, exit and removal of foreign nationals from national territory. The legislation marks a turning point in Portuguese migration policy, prioritising professional qualifications and the effective integration of immigrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are the most significant changes introduced by the immigration law?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new immigration law introduced changes such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Abolition of the expression of interest mechanism;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Creation of a qualified job-seeker visa;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>New rules for nationals of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stricter requirements for family reunification;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Creation of a residence permit for entrepreneurs;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Creation of the National Unit for Foreigners and Borders;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Amendment to the judicial oversight regime.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Immigration Law \u2013 Abolition of the expression of interest<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new immigration law puts an end to the expression of interest mechanism. It is no longer possible to apply for a residence permit after entering Portugal without a residence visa. The appropriate visa must now be obtained at the consulate in the country of origin before travelling to Portugal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Immigration Law \u2013 Qualified job-seeker visa<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The immigration law replaces the previous job-seeker visa with a new qualified job-seeker visa, reserved for professionals with specialised technical skills. The holder may carry out highly qualified professional activity during the validity of the visa. If the holder fails to regularise their situation within that period, they must leave national territory and wait one year before submitting a new application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Immigration Law \u2013 New rules for nationals of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The immigration law now requires nationals of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries to enter Portugal with a residence visa issued in their country of origin. Entry on a tourist visa or short-stay visa is no longer sufficient for the purpose of applying for a residence permit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Immigration Law \u2013 Stricter requirements for family reunification<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The immigration law now requires, in most cases, that the holder has held a valid residence permit for at least two years before they may apply for family reunification. Adequate housing and means of subsistence without recourse to social support, as well as compliance with integration measures, are also required. Exceptions exist, notably for holders of investment residence permits or EU Blue Cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Immigration Law \u2013 Residence permit for entrepreneurs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The immigration law creates a new residence permit regime for foreign nationals who develop innovative projects within certified incubators, with the aim of attracting entrepreneurial talent to national territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Immigration Law \u2013 Creation of the National Unit for Foreigners and Borders<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The migration policy reform established the <strong>National Unit for Foreigners and Borders,<\/strong> integrated within the <strong>Public Security Police (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.psp.pt\/Pages\/homePage.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PSP<\/a>)<\/strong>. This specialised unit is responsible for border control and the enforcement of rules applicable to foreign nationals in national territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Immigration Law \u2013 Amendment to the judicial oversight regime<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The immigration law changes the way in which foreign nationals may judicially challenge decisions or omissions by the <strong>Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (<a href=\"https:\/\/aima.gov.pt\/pt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AIMA<\/a>).<\/strong> Before ruling, the judge must now weigh the Agency&#8217;s response capacity and the impact of the decision on other pending proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Priscilla Frederighi<\/strong>&nbsp;| pfrederighi@rosarioduarte.pt<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/gyHAu1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sign up for our Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Contact us and\/or book a meeting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rosarioduarte.pt\/en\/contacts\/\">here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the purpose of the new immigration law amendment? The new amendment to immigration [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rosarioduarte.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rosarioduarte.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rosarioduarte.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rosarioduarte.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rosarioduarte.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2897"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.rosarioduarte.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2900,"href":"https:\/\/www.rosarioduarte.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2897\/revisions\/2900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rosarioduarte.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rosarioduarte.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rosarioduarte.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}