These comments are indicative of trolling and so don’t warrant a response.
Why is it most of the people making these sorts of comments only created their accounts here a few days or weeks ago?
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Well, there’s quite a lot to unpack in your comment. For starters, yes obviously Portugal is a civil law jurisdiction, but the concept of boa fé is explicitly referenced throughout the Portuguese legal code, so it’s odd to dismiss it as “Anglo-American”.
I also don’t think it’s wise to present a detailed legal argument with a thread of supporting evidence in a forum like this, and I would caution anyone who starts one. This is a public platform, searchable by government lawyers (who can also post here …). As much as I want to help my fellow pilgrims, it would be reckless for me to publish the details of legal advice I’ve received, beyond discussing general principles. I’ll just note that it comes from a respected global law firm, not a visa mill, and, without outing myself, that I have considerable experience with cross-border investments. These are complex issues involving EU administrative law, Portuguese constitutional principles, and the interaction between immigration and investment regimes. Everyone in this situation should consult qualified legal professionals as every case will differ. I invested in a closed-ended VC fund in 2020. The legal arguments that apply to my case won’t be the same as those involving property purchases made under different rules or at a different point in time.
That said, I am curious, you mentioned holding your visa since 2014 but it looks like you only joined the forum a few days ago. Have you already pursued citizenship?
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No, honestly I’d advise against that. This is a public forum that can be read by government lawyers. Talk to a lawyer and get them to put together a case based on your individual circumstances.
I do not think individual legal cases would work at all.
Even the UK case I referenced above was won by an “HSMP Forum” which was a “not-for-profit organization which supported and assisted skilled migrants in the UK”.
Besides all ARI applicants/holders have much more in common that different for the purposes of any such prospective case/cases. So if the push comes to shove, there needs to be a single highly-publicized case pulled together, where the interests of all participants of the ARI program are represented by a single plaintiff (i.e. an organization of some sort).
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Possibly, although from what I understand class-action-style litigation is not as common in Portugal, and their NFP sector is far less developed than in the UK so there might not be a local org to take it on. And I do think there are nuances to cases that will depend on the time and nature of investment, but it is impossible to state that with any certainty until we see the actual law.
Or the President will send the passed law to the Constitutional Court for review, before publishing it…
BTW, doesn’t AD+Chega+IL together have the votes to amend the constitution? Does anyone know where IL stands on this?
Override as a one time thing, or they have to amend it?
If they have to delete the “no retroactive effects” part entirely to pass this law, that may be a step too far, even to “pwn the immigrants”
Based on the debates before the election and commentary afterwards, I don’t think anyone is looking to amend the “no retroactive effects” language. It’s more about equal treatment language from what I can tell. Think about any new law that strips a naturalised citizen of citizenship for certain crimes, but doesn’t do it to a Portuguese-born citizen—this might come into conflict with the constitution, so the parties might opt to preemptively amend the constitution as well.
How the “no retroactive effects” gets interpreted, of course, is up to the constitutional court. Does Portugal even have an “override as a one time thing” mechanism? (Also, “overriding” your highest court’s decision is a lot worse than overriding a presidential veto American-style.) Anyhow, the government seems to be going for broke on this front:
The impact of changes on foreign investors is starting to get some mainstream coverage. The headline is "Qualified Immigrants Criticize New Immigration Rules in Portugal: “It’s Not a Trustworthy Country”. Worth noting the journalist has been reading comments on subreddits like r/PortugalExpats, so it’s quite possible they are lurking here too …
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Can we actually send a link to this discussion to some of the journalist to cover it? It’s a good point actually to attract attention to the problem.
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If you look at the comments from the Portuguese in the Expresso article, you will see there is zero sympathy for us. The most likely response is “if you don’t like it here, go back where you came from.”
The tragedy of the whole saga is that those with options (money or brains) will go somewhere else if mistreated, and Portugal will still be stuck with MI/CPLP immigrants (plus 3-5x family members they bring in over the next decade), who have no choice but to tough it out in Portugal for more years. In a way, the Portuguese get the politicians they elect, the policies they adopt, and the country they deserve.
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There are 18 comments at the moment. I know Portugal is small but let’s not get too carried away! Any article on a sensitive political topic is going to attract hyperventilating crazies. The point of laws is to protect individuals against an unsympathetic mob.
Plus one of the comments is “O Governo deve criar um regime transitório para acautelar quem já havia iniciado o procedimento” (and no, that wasn’t me lol)
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I honestly think some of the CPLP immigrants might move to Spain over this - although they could come back to Portugal once they have a Spanish passport, which is only 2 years for Brazilians.
Choice 1: go to Spain which is bigger, more opportunity, more pro immigration, and offers citizenship in 2 years. Your whole family can join you right away. After two years you can move to Portugal as an EU citizen and thanks to EU rights, your whole family can join you immediately there too.
Choice 2: tough it out in Portugal. Wait 3 years for your permit. At this point the Spanish version of you is probably already a citizen. Meanwhile you just got your residence card. You have to live completely alone another 2 years until your family can join you. Then another 4 years to become a citizen.
Option 1 seems way more attractive on every front.
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Translated version for those interested:
Skilled immigrants criticize new immigration rules in Portugal: “It’s not a reliable country”
“How can they force people to wait two years for a residence card and then say that it doesn’t count?” asks a user on one of the forums on the online discussion platform Reddit. “Why is family reunification a problem? I don’t mind waiting 10 or even 15 years to become a citizen, after all, I’m moving to Portugal to live in that country. But not seeing my wife and children for two years is simply absurd,” says another. The reactions came after the Council of Ministers approved a legislative package on Monday that tightens immigration rules.
The complaints arise mainly in forums such as r/PortugalExpats, a community on Reddit where foreigners living in Portugal share questions, advice, and experiences about visas, bureaucracy, housing, and daily life in the country. Since the announcement of the new rules, critical comments have multiplied, with dozens of posts and hundreds of responses, many signed by digital nomads, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers who report some uncertainty about the new migration policies.
The new laws have made it more difficult to obtain Portuguese nationality, family reunification, and access to the labor market, and have caused a wave of discontent on social media, mainly among users of other nationalities. “Foreign websites are full of news saying that Portugal has already changed the rules, that there are retroactive effects, which is frightening,”, Raquel de Matos Esteves, founding lawyer of RME Legal and specialist in the regime for non-habitual residents in Portugal, golden visas, and D-7 visas (intended for citizens of countries outside the European Union who can prove they have sufficient income to reside in Portugal without depending on the national labor market), told Expresso.
Tiago Miranda
AIMA delays aggravate the situation
One of the biggest changes relates to the Nationality Law. Until now, an immigrant had to reside legally in Portugal for five years before being able to apply for nationality. With the changes, they will now have to wait 10 years (or seven, if they come from a country in the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries).
According to the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, this period starts from the date of obtaining the residence permit, disregarding the time elapsed since the temporary residence permit was applied for, as was previously stipulated in the law.
For Raquel de Matos Esteves, this could create injustices, especially considering the waiting times for the validation of applications by the Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (AIMA). “We have waiting periods of five years at the office before AIMA makes a decision,” the lawyer explains. “For people who have already proven their eligibility years ago, it seems unfair to me to go back and remove the deadline. What can be questioned is whether, for those who have not proven anything, but have only expressed their interest, this time should or should not count,” she adds.
In the first four months of this year, AIMA was the target of 593 complaints on the Complaints Portal, an increase of around 37% compared to the last four months of 2024. According to the platform itself, the main reasons for the complaints “are related to delays in processing and difficulties in contacting them, which account for 67.93% of the total number of incidents.”
“The delays in processing residence applications are honestly making me wonder whether the headache I’m likely to have in renewing my first two-year temporary permit is offset by any benefits of living here,” João (not his real name) tells Expresso. He is an immigrant from the United Kingdom who, last year, applied for IFICI - Tax Incentive for Scientific Research and Innovation, a scheme created by the Portuguese government to attract international investment and create skilled jobs. He currently lives in Lisbon.
The controversy surrounding family reunification
Another controversial issue concerns the new rules on family reunification. The current law requires applicants to prove that they have sufficient means to support their family. According to the criteria defined by AIMA, applicants must guarantee at least the equivalent of the national minimum wage for themselves, 50% of that amount for each additional adult (such as a spouse), and 30% for each dependent child or minor.
The new rules approved by the government require immigrants to have resided in Portugal for two years before they can apply to AIMA to bring their family to the country. Holders of Residence Permits for Investment, highly skilled workers, and Blue Card holders (European Union work permit) are exempt from this requirement.
“We have a client in the United Kingdom who applied for a residence visa for Portugal as a remote worker and is married to a third-country national. He has been trying to apply for family reunification for his wife for two years and there is no vacancy,” explains Raquel de Matos Esteves.
“These people started the process months ago, they have already invested in rented houses, and now, all of a sudden, I am going to tell them that only one family member can come, they have to wait two years, and only then can they reunite the rest of the family,” adds the lawyer.
The right of an immigrant to bring their family to live with them, in accordance with the criteria defined by the country’s law, is enshrined in European conventions.
Nuno Fox
Impact on attracting foreign talent
For the lawyer, these changes could compromise the country’s attractiveness. "The image this will give is that, from one moment to the next, [Portugal] changes the rules and is unreliable. People had the expectation that this is a stable process and were waiting calmly," she says.
According to Raquel de Matos Esteves, news of immigration restrictions is already worrying investors, who have recently stated that it is preferable to reassess conditions before moving forward with projects in the country. “Capital will leave Portugal. I have no doubt that this will happen,” concluded the lawyer.
For the British immigrant interviewed by Expresso, “the negative publicity and the fact that Portugal is now one of the European Union countries where it takes the longest to obtain citizenship” will make the country less competitive in attracting foreign talent.
“The fact that regulations seem to change every month is not a valid way to operate and undermines any confidence immigrants may have that the system works for them and not against them,” he says, adding, however, that another major problem is related to the low wages offered by many Portuguese employers.
Agriculture is one of the sectors most dependent on immigrant labor
Tiago Miranda
However, Álvaro Fernández, managing director of the multinational Michael Page in Portugal, believes that the current reform of migration policy will not have a significant impact on the recruitment of qualified foreign talent, as this is “a pillar of productivity,” and it is therefore in the national and corporate interest to “continue to focus on valuing qualified talent as a central axis for economic and scientific development.”
When asked about possible cases of recruiters who, in view of the new legal framework, choose to postpone hiring processes, the head of Michael Page Portugal says he has not recorded any such situation.
“The shortage of qualified talent remains a reality in the market, and hiring specialized professionals continues to be a priority for employers. With the growth of hubs and shared service centers in Portugal, which provide support to companies in Europe and globally, there is often a need to attract foreign talent with specific technical and linguistic skills. For this reason, companies that choose Portugal to develop international projects remain keenly interested in attracting these types of highly qualified profiles,” says Álvaro Fernández.
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This is the link to one of the petitions to Senhor Presidente da Assembleia da República
AO EXMO - advocating to protect the start time for citizenship as to when the resident application is filed (the analysis fee payment for ARI holders/applicants). .
https://participacao.parlamento.pt/initiatives/4879
The number of signatures for this petition is moving up at a very slow pace compared to the one for the petition to create a transition period.
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Is there any point to sign up to these if I’m not a Portuguese citizen?
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Does anybody know how does petitions work? How many signatures needed for it to matter?
While you so gleefully claim that it’s golden visa and not golden passport, I have a very good point to counter that but will save it for future legal proceedings if it comes to it
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I assure you I am not gleeful about it. I am on your side and hope everyone here gets citizenship in the stipulated 5 year time period. I was just pointing out that I’m not sure the government ever made a direct claim that it is 5 years and only 5 years to citizenship with the golden visa. It definitely was implied as many here have discussed but unless the government claimed that was part of the offer they could deny it on this and similar basis. If there are clear claims then yes, please include those in your lawsuit because it will help.
Personally, I think the government is trying to appease the voters and it would make sense for them to grandfather in or even offer a full exemption for investor visa holders. Portugal needs money, that much is known. Perhaps they will do it quietly on the side without much press coverage of the fact so that the populace is happy and so are the investors.
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Where to start …
I get the chills when people valorise their lawyers or say that legal arguments are too complex to explain. You’re right though that this is probably not the right forum to unpack those arguments. Nonetheless, I would urge the importance in developing a legal strategy of taking counter arguments seriously.
Like I said, I’ve been burned. Primary investor (who has been on this forum for a very long time @portugalwanderer) has citizenship. The rest of the family lost a number of years, which SEF was not able/refused to explain. A number of others who submitted around the same time (circa when SEF was basically shut down for a period because of GV corruption allegations) had the same issue and ended up walking away. The family have citizenship applications in at present, submitted 2+ years ago. All have had administrative court cases lodged, none of which have been helpful.
FWIW, a big part of the misleading advertising is that “you and YOUR FAMILY” can obtain citizenship after 5 (or however many) years. Fact is that if your kids are under 18 that’s complete rubbish. Only over 18’s can count years. Under 18’s must wait for a parent to become Portuguese (after a 2+ year wait) and only then apply on the basis of having a naturalised Portuguese parent. Right now those applications for children are taking around 3 years to process. That is a an aspect of Portuguese immigration law that is ripe for EU litigation.
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