The PM stated at yesterday’s parliamentary debate that the revisions to the Foreigners Law were not discussed with any party (prior to the revisions). There was no reference to any Committee.
The parliamentary debate on the revised Foreigners Law, and a vote, will occur on Tuesday 30th Sept.
Does it mean that the proposal to extend the waiting period for citizenship will also be voted on Tuesday 30th?
My understanding is that the changes that they want to make to the nationality law are completely separate, and while a bill was proposed it never received a vote. They may well have plans to unveil something at the same time, but the foreigners law is the one they’re currently trying to patch together after the court defeat and subsequent veto.
It is quite important to keep in mind that there are 2 laws that are/were proposed. They are linked, but are not the same.
One, the Foreigners Law, was already discussed in Parliament before the summer break, went to the Constitutional Court which pointed out clauses which were unconstitutional, has been revised to deal with the Constitutional Court’s objections, and will now be discussed and voted on again - September 30.
Two, the Nationality Law, which proposes extending the time of residence before one can apply for citizenship, for different categories of persons. The proposed alteration to the Nationality Law has not yet been discussed in Parliament. It has been/will continue to be discussed with different groups - and is expected to be discussed in full and voted on in Parliament in late October.
No guarantees it will be approved in parliament, given it’s a minority government and Chega wants changes… let’s see how Tuesday goes.
“And after examining it, if I reach the conclusion that it corresponds to what the Constitutional Court said, I enact it. And that’s probably what happens.”
In a new plot twist, PS is signalling it might give PSD the votes it needs to pass the revised immigration law next Tuesday, sidelining Chega altogether.
Ventura is gonna be either 1) mad at being jilted or 2) happy he can still complain from the sidelines, or maybe 3) some irrational combination of both.
Nationality law is still in committee, no plenary slot for it next week on the published agenda. Normally one week notice is given for debates, so next week looks unrealistic, unless leaders add it as an urgent item.
Found this on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/PortugalExpats/s/Vc3EJLMDro. The petition for the transitional regime, in case the citizenship term is raised to 10 years, will be heard and discussed in parliament on October 17.
This sounds like it would only cover those who have residency card, which would be bad for all of us still waiting. How could we influence this?
This is a Committee meeting, which is also televised, so can be seen/heard live. It is a precursor to, but not the Parliamentary debate and/or vote, which has legal consequences - ie can be enacted into law.
Not necessarily. The petition is asking for a transition period “for those legally resident in Portugal". The nationality law currently defines residency as starting from the date of application, not your card. It really depends if the parliament also changes the laws around residency start date without also including a transition period there.
Well spotted, that’s a big development. The fact that a transition clause petition reached the signature threshold for committee means parliament can’t just ignore it. It has to be debated and addressed in the committee’s report. Deputies either have to recommend adding a transition clause or give a thorough justification for rejecting it.
…but we also know from postings on this board that the AIMA implementation of that is totally random:
When would be the right time? Would love to do something about it
I’d say anywhere between September 30th and October 17th.
Is there a petition we could do as well? Or the best approach is for individual letters?
You won’t be able to get enough signatures for an ARI-focused petition. You’d probably get some negative signatures count 
So the best way I can think of is to piggy-back on the existing ‘general’ petition that would be heard on Oct 17th, by sending individual letters emphasizing the need for a specific carve-out/grandfathering for ARI.
If any other suggestions, please shout.
And does our community have any list of contacts we can all send to? This may be worth a group effort?
Would the survey play any role in this? I filled out 
.
Or maybe 4) kiss and make up? 
PSD and Chega still have a long way to go to jointly approve the foreigners’ law. After the negotiations appeared to be at a dead end, given André Ventura’s statements in the last biweekly debate , Chega announced this Friday the formation of a working group, together with the Social Democrats, to “finalize the normative design of the new foreigners’ law.” Without denying, but downplaying, Hugo Soares, leader of the PSD parliamentary group, confirmed that talks are underway. According to PÚBLICO’s information, the government and the Social Democrats continue to favor André Ventura’s party for the approval of this legislation.
“Totally random” is too strong. There was one report of a wrong date earlier this year when some local AIMA offices were still issuing CDTs on demand. Recent anecdotes suggest the process now has tighter controls, which is why you have to book an appointment and then wait a few months for it to be issued.
In any case, IRN that runs the citizenship process, not AIMA. IRN will confirm whether you’ve met the legal residency requirement. IRN has direct access to the databases, so they check your eligibility themselves. The law, court rulings, and IRN’s own practice count from the date of the residence application, not the date the card was printed.
I think we’re giving CDTs too much weight. It’s become a bit of an echo chamber on the issue here, making them seem more important than they really are. CDTs aren’t required for a citizenship application and they don’t carry much legal force. At best, they’re just a paper trail for peace of mind during this period of uncertainty.
Well, there’s an image I didn’t consider 