Proposed amendments to laws governing immigrant nationality and family reunification by the government.
António Leitão Amaro, the Minister of the Presidency, has spilled the beans about the government's program, which includes a comprehensive overhaul of the nationality law and immigrant family reunification policies. The cat's out of the bag after the Council of Ministers meeting.
In a candid chat with journalists, Leitão Amaro revealed that the radical revamp of the nationality law is high on the Government's agenda, set to be finalized and submitted to parliament this weekend.
Leitão Amaro emphasized the urgent need to revamp the nationality law with proposed changes like extending deadlines and counting moments. This preserve-and-improve approach was already teased by the previous PSD/CDS coalition government and has been carried forward as part of the electoral program supported by the current government.
The Minister further justified the urgent requirement to change the law on immigrant family reunification to cap it, as there is a state of severity when it comes to addressing requests from the community, the State, and public services.
In the realm of immigration, a key priority for the Government, Luís Montenegro and co. aim to settle long-pending issues, humanely integrate immigrants, strengthen entry controls, and re-evaluate the "entry points" regime.
Leitão Amaro underscored the significant shake-up in immigration policy that transpired a year ago.
Insights:
- The government plans to simplify and stabilize legal criteria for acquiring nationality, with an emphasis on promoting clarity, predictability, and fairness.
- The review includes strengthening integration requirements such as language proficiency, democratic institutions knowledge, and the absence of serious criminal records.
- The government intends to streamline immigrant family reunification procedures and make applications more accessible, potentially eliminating wait times.
- A crucial piece of the puzzle is a digital modernization of immigration-related processes, with a single, multilingual online portal including deadlines, notifications, and real-time tracking.
- The review also includes measures to attract investment into low-density areas, promoting economic development in those regions through immigration.
In a nutshell, the government aims to modernize and clarify legal frameworks for nationality and family reunification, speed up administrative processes, ensure integration requirements are met, and leverage immigration policy for economic and regional development. This comprehensive approach to immigration reform promises a seismic shift under Minister António Leitão Amaro's leadership.
[1] Portugal Immigration Policy: Facts and Analysis. (2022). International Organization for Migration. Retrieved from [https://www.iom.int/portugal-immigration-policy-facts-and-analysis]
[3] Portugal Immigration Policy: An Overview. (2021). European Commission. Retrieved from [https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/portugal-immigration-policy_en]
- The government's ambitious plan for immigration reform, as revealed by Minister António Leitão Amaro, includes a radical revamp of the nationality law and a streamlining of family reunification policies, which are key items discussed in policy-and-legislation and general-news.
- The Government's agenda, as disclosed by Minister Leitão Amaro, prioritizes a modernization and clarification of legal frameworks for nationality and family reunification, with the aim to settle long-pending issues in the realm of immigration, making it a hot topic in politics and general news.
