Portugal’s right-wing government has won parliamentary approval for a new immigration law, passed with support from the far-right Chega party. The reforms set stricter conditions for foreigners seeking to settle in the country.
The centre-right coalition pushed the bill through parliament on Tuesday with support from all right-wing parties. Left-wing parties voted against it.
An earlier version passed in July was blocked by the Constitutional Court. Lawmakers returned with amendments addressing the most critical points found to be in violation of the constitution.
Government spokesman Antonio Leitao Amaro said before the vote that “the time of irresponsible immigration is over”, adding that Portugal needed to control and regulate flows in order to integrate with humanity.
Far right gains in Portuguese polls as PM holds on
Tighter family rules, work visas
The law sets a two-year period of legal residence before immigrants can apply to bring in spouses.
Couples who were together for more than a year before moving can apply after a year. Children under 18 and dependants with disabilities can join regardless of the applicant’s residency period.
Job-search visas will be reserved for highly skilled workers. Another measure ends a pathway that had allowed Brazilians – the country’s largest immigrant group, with over 450,000 people – to regularise their status after entering on tourist visas.
Lawmakers are still debating changes to the rules for acquiring Portuguese nationality.
How Portugal's Carnation Revolution changed the fate of its colonies in Africa
Rights groups angry
“This approval, hand in hand with Chega, is truly another stab in the back for the constitution of the Portuguese republic, for all European human rights conventions, and for the fundamental charter of human rights,” Mariana Carneiro of the non-profit SOS Racismo told RFI.
“It is a blatant attack against the people who choose to live here and work here.”
Amaro said the reform “ensures that the right balance is struck – neither with doors wide open to immigrants, nor closed” as the government seeks to link migration more closely to labour market needs.
Portugal, a country of about 10.5 million people, has seen immigration rise fast in recent years.
Official figures show more than 1.5 million foreign citizens were legally living there by the end of 2024 – about 15 percent of the population.
The reforms reflect a wider trend across Europe, where governments have tightened immigration rules as far-right parties gain influence.
