The doors are closed

Portugal tightens migration rules: to get a residence permit, having entered Tursviz, now it is impossible. Are loopholes remained in the law and how will it affect those who already live in the country?

Portugal tightens migration rules: now immigrants from countries that are not part of the EU will not be able to enter Portugal on a tourist visa and then serve on a residence permit and look for work in the country.

Portugal has long remained a country with one of the most liberal immigration regimes of the Europe and the only EU that allowed to get a residence permit, already inside and having only a tourist visa. However, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro promised to put an end to the policy of “wide open door”. What has changed in the legislation of Portugal, how the law will affect Ukrainians and Russians who have already arrived in the country, and were there any easy ways to move there? Novyevropa is dealing with lawyers and experts.

1. What has changed in the legislation of Portugal?

The new immigration program of the Portuguese government includes 41 measures, the main of which begins the list: the abolition of a widely used mechanism called “Manifestation of Interest” (“Expression of interest”, the procedure for applying for a residence permit based on the availability of work or business in Portugal). It was he who allowed migrants from countries that are not part of the EU to move to Portugal without an employment contract and request a residence permit if they made deductions to the social security system for at least a year.

“This opportunity, despite the long expectation, has become a popular way to get a residence permit and, after five years, and Portuguese citizenship,” said Oleg Shvedenko, who was living in Portugal, a Russian lawyer, founder and author of the Telegram and Law-Portugal Telegram channel in a conversation with the “New Evrop”.

The existence of "Manifestation of Interest" is nowhere in the EU, except for Portugal, has not been preserved. Earlier, a foreign citizen who entered the country, including on a tourist visa and found a job, could apply for a residence permit. Given the new rules, most foreigners who want to work in the country, now it will be necessary to apply for a work visa at the Portuguese consulate before arrival. In addition, migrants must have an employment contract before moving to the country.

“Neither closed nor completely open doors,” said Prime Minister Luis Montenegro during the presentation of a new plan for migration.

According to the authorities, for applications submitted before this legislative change, a transition regime will act: that is, to everyone who has already managed to express their interest and go on a residence permit, you just need to wait for an answer from the migration service, they will not affect new measures.

The country's authorities said that the priority for the state will be the attracting immigrants from the community of Portugal -speaking countries (CPLP), as well as qualified specialists, students and people who want to reunite with the family.

However, there are no details about the type of “qualifications” that are being discussed.

The new right -centric government, formed after the March elections, also plans to create a group for consideration of thousands of accumulated visa statements and invest in centers that could help migrants living in difficult conditions.

The public security police (PSP) will also create a special unit engaged in border control and inspection in the country, as well as a group to combat human trafficking networks.

The cancellation of "Manifestation of Interest" has already entered into force . President of the Republic of Marcelu Rebel de Souza approved amendments less than three hours after the government submitted a new plan.

The remaining measures, mainly related to the acceleration of processes and the integration of immigrants, will still be discussed.

2. Why did this happen?

So far, Portugal has remained the only country to the EU, where it was possible to enter the Schengen and only then look for work inside and submit to a residence permit.

The authorities explain such a decision by the fact that the country needs regulated immigration, “the rules without supervision are the path to uncertainty and humiliation, in which many immigrants live,” said Minister Antonio Leitao Amaro.

According to the Portuguese government, the number of foreign residents in Portugal increased by 33% to a record 1 million people in 2023, which is about 10% of the total population of the country. This is almost twice as much as ten years ago. About 14% of taxpayers - - migrants who in 2022 introduced more than 1.6 billion euros to the economy and received about 257 million euros of social benefits.

“We need people in Portugal, ready to help us build a more fair and prosperous society,” said Portugal Prime Minister Luis Montenegro. “But we cannot fall to the other extreme and have wide open doors.”

The Portuguese Migration Service ceased to cope with the flow of appeals: 400 thousand processes only at the consideration and thousands of people were waiting for the opportunity to sign up, Pavel Elizarov, a political activist, who received a political asylum in Portugal and has now become a citizen of the country, noted in a conversation with New Evrop.

In addition, in May the EU accepted the Pact about the migration and shelter of the European Union with a number of new restrictive measures, to which Portugal as the EU country should realize.

- Social tension also appeared: in addition to the migration service, other public services were overloaded, housing prices rose, and the theme of restrictions on immigration included in the political campaign.

In general, the Portuguese are very hospitable and everyone understands that immigration is necessary, but the state simply ceased to cope with the flow, ”added Elizarov.

Expert Oleg Shvedenko also notes that this decision is caused by a deep crisis in the work of the Portuguese migration service, which for many years has not coped with the processing of applications for the receipt and extension of a residence permit.

- Delight when considering applications by the Migration Service leads to appealing the actions of this service in court. For example, more than 100 applications from immigrants about permission or extension of residence are received to the Lisbon administrative court daily. A similar situation in the courts of other districts. The President of the Supreme Administrative Court (STA) classifies the situation as dramatic, since there are simply no sufficient human resources to process these statements, which paralyzes the work of the judicial system, ”Oleg Shvedenko emphasized in a conversation with the New European Europe.

According to Reuters, this plan illustrates the shift to the right in politics in most of Europe. In March, universal elections were held in Portugal, in which, with a slight advantage, the right democratic alliance (AD) won. The party does not have an absolute majority in parliament and needs the support of the extreme right -wing party “Scheme” or levocentric socialists to adopt the law.

“Scheg” is the third largest political party in Portugal, which increased its parliamentary representation four times: up to 50 legislators. Her leader Andre Ventura, however, called the immigration plan “weak” and “ineffective”, urging him to tighten him even more.

Under the previous socialist government, which has been in power for eight years since 2015, one of the most open migration regimes in Europe has been in effect in Portugal,

Although migrants have long complained about serious delays in obtaining a residence permit and other documents.

The leader of the socialists Pedro Nunu Santos said that the cancellation of the Manification of Interest mechanism can be a problem for those who arrive without a work visa, and that people in this case may be in an inhuman situation without exit.

3. How will the law affect Ukrainians and Russians who have already arrived in Portugal?

The new rules will affect thousands of Russians who are already living within the country or are going to move there. Under high pressure is the one who has already arrived and lives in Portugal, but did not have time to go on a residence permit, Pavel Elizarov notes in a conversation with Novo-Europe:

- It was almost impossible to sign up [for a residence permit] in recent months. Often these are people who have been preparing for a long time, hired lawyers, rented housing for a long time, taught the language. Now their plans are breaking away. It is difficult to evaluate how many people were in this situation, but I think that we are talking about thousands of Russians, ”he added.

The restrictions do not concern those who managed to go to a residence permit and are waiting for a decision: the amendments made to the law do not have retroactive force, the expert on Portugal Oleg Shvedenko emphasizes.

But for such people, the risk has increased that the petition will be rejected, Elizarov emphasizes.

So far, there are no plans to limit the possibility of extending a residence permit for those who have previously received a residence permit with a tourist visa.

“But people, of course, tensed out that the government will be able to make new restrictions on one day,” said Elizarov.

For Ukrainians who do not need any visa to enter the EU, the temporary protection program continues to operate (until 2025), but they also need methods of constant legalization.

This can be complicated with new measures, Elizarov emphasized.

The continuation of the temporary protection program for citizens of Ukraine will depend on the development of war, in a conversation from New Evrop, the head of the Union of Ukrainians in Portugal Pavlo Sadokha noted. In his opinion, Portuguese reform will not affect Ukrainians.

- First: most likely, temporary protection will continue or changed to another legal form, which will allow Ukrainians to be legally in the EU countries. Second: I think that even before 2030, Ukraine will either join the EU, or citizens of Ukraine will receive a special status for legal residence and labor, ”he summed up.

4. Are there any loopholes in the law?

There were two legitimate ways to get a residence permit, having entered Portugal on a tourist visa, says Oleg Shvedenko, an expert on Portugal, in a commentary on Novo-Europe. Firstly, this is obtaining a residence permit to reunite a family. You can use it when one of your family members already has a residence permit or citizenship of Portugal and agrees to such a reunion.

But this does not apply to all relatives, but only to:

• spouse/spouse;

• children (including adopted or taken under guardianship) under the age of 18, or older than 18 years, but if they study at a school or university and depend on their parents financially;

• brothers and sisters, if you are their legal guardian;

• Parents over 65 years old, or up to 65 years old, but if they are dependent and you keep them financially.

Also, it has not yet been canceled Article 90.2 of the “Law on Foreigners”: according to it, a specialist with a suitable higher education can be legalized on the basis of Schengen if there is work for the Portuguese company, which needs highly qualified personnel. The fate of this norm of the law is still unknown.

There is now no other opportunities to get a residence permit of Portugal, having arrived on a tourist visa.

If you are already in Portugal in Schengen in order to get a residence permit, but do not approach the points described above, you will have to return to another country and ask for a working visa in the Portuguese consulates, and the employer with an employment contract (the types of such visas and the possibility of receiving them can be read in the Taxi and Law-Portugal Teleogram channel ). And only then enter again.

Thus, it is best to contact the consulate for a working, educational or nomad visa in advance.

- Those who have a good case for political asylum can come to seek it with a tourist visa, but it is important that this visa be issued precisely Portugal, and not by another Schengen country,

-advises Pavel Elizarov in a conversation with New Evrop.

Nomad visa is one of the best remaining options for constant legalization in Portugal. A lot of digital nomads gathered into the country. The Digital Nomad visa is intended for people who work remotely, and allows migrants to be legally in one country, receiving income from another.

Documents for the nomad visa of Portugal (DR VISA) can only be submitted from the country of citizenship or from the country where the applicant has a residence permit. Immigration lawyers warn that the queue for entering for the filing in most consulates is very long.

To submit an application, you need to provide an agreement with the employer or the service provision agreement. Per month, the main applicant must earn at least 3040 euros. In addition, you need to provide an extract on the balance in a bank account at the rate of 9120 euros at the main applicant (and 50% of this amount per spouse and 30% for each child).

The applicant must bring documents to the Migration Department within Portugal that confirm living in Portugal (housing lease agreement, ownership), medical insurance drawn up in Portugal, as well as evidence of income that will allow you to live in the country for at least a year.

5. What types of residence permit can be obtained in Portugal?

In Portugal, you can still get:

• Freezing residence permit;

• Residence permit for entrepreneurs or self -employed;

• A residence permit for digital nomads working remotely (digital nomad);

• A residence permit for people who have demonstrated financial independence (pension, rent, dividends, royalties, etc.);

• A residence permit for people with high qualifications, for teachers and cultural figures;

• Residence permit on training in a higher educational institution;

• Residence permit on school;

• Family reunification.

Previously, the so -called “gold visas” acted in Portugal - a program for a residence permit for investments, including real estate. Within the framework of the residence permit in Portugal, it was possible to obtain from 350 thousand to 500 thousand euros investing in real estate. But last year this program was canceled.