In early 2021, DHS revoked already-issued ESTAs of all Hungarian passport holders born outside of Hungary and continued to deny new ESTA applications to Hungarian applicants born outside of Hungary. In August of 2023, the Biden Administration reduced the ESTA validity period for Hungarian travelers from two years to just one year, while also limiting ESTAs to a single use.
It’s good to know that the policy can be reversed. At the moment though it doesn’t seem like any announcement has been made to this effect. Just some people on reddit saying they had their ESTAs revoked today.
Only Indian born PT citizens so far. Lets see if any other reports come to light in the next hours/coming days. It’ll probably make the new policy clearer even if there is no announcement about it.
Not to get into it or anything, but as frustrating and heartbreaking as Portugal’s immigration policy is right now, what’s happening in the US at the moment is far worse.
Thanks for posting this. I used CG to get my GV in the first place (application Nov 2021; court summons Nov 2023; card issued Apr 2024) but I seem to have fallen off their mailing list as I wasn’t notified about this webinar.
CG is rarely mentioned in this forum, maybe because they’re pricey, and the reason I used them is that they came as part of a package of services from my original agent who was in India. I’m coming up for renewal in April 2026 and we were planning on applying for citizenship in Nov 2026 so let’s see what happens.
Though I normally dislike AI output pasted into this forum, this post is a useful reminder:
For every PGV shill who’s built a business on our misfortune and those who will come after, for every five Chega bigots, for every ten misinformed Portuguese who blame PGV for the housing crisis, there are dozens who have no stake in this.
For us, this is a hill we may die on and a potential turning point for Portugal; for many others, including the law and its interpreters, it’s just another case.
Even if you disagree (and yes, even I, Hippopotamousse, am more optimistic about our chances than this ChatGPT reply), it’s still useful to read analysis that treats one of the most consequential cases of our lives like any other.
Does anyone (who is willing to share it) have the Jorge Miranda opinion itself (vs this report about the opinion)? I haven’t been able to find it anywhere online.
Also consider ChatGPT only answered the question posed, which is whether the court will strike down the changes in general.
The question I’m more interested in is whether the court will impose a transitional regime to protect legitimate expectations. I’m fine with the new rules applying to future residents.
We spoke with CG in the beginning as they were recommended by GCS. The quote they gave us was considerably more expensive (>20%) than firms not recommended by CGS or GGV. They most likely pay the intermediaries a “finders fee” for recommendations, which is then passed off to the applciants.
Also, we are due to renew in April and our citizenship application month is September, so we’re in much the same boat as you.
Don’t know when they launched this site (this whois suggests ‘keepthepromise.pt’ was only registered yesterday??), but it should have been months ago… it’s too late now for most of what they suggest.
We encourage all stakeholders—residents, legal professionals, civil society organizations, and concerned citizens—to engage constructively with policymakers and advocate for fair transitional or grandfathering provisions that protect those already on the path to citizenship.
Sure write to the President if you haven’t already, but the bill arrives on his desk in just a few days and could be “dealt with” by Friday! (one way or the other)
ok, but that hand-wringing is half a year too late. The “anti-immigration” train left the station months (years?) ago, and has been picking up steam all year.
Investors should have been voicing concerns to their Fund Managers/Migration Firms back in April, and those PT firms should have been lobbying PT politicians all summer.
I believe they were, through PAIIR. But firms and lawyers are not all powerful, especially against prevailing political winds. The politicians have simply decided to ignore them.
They’re representing rich people. Who aren’t important. They’re foreigners who don’t vote. Worse, they’re rich, which means we hate them because they always screw us over. Only CR gets away with it because… football.
