Immigration. The Government's First Battle

It was Luís Montenegro who, after the elections of 18 May, announced that the PSD, as a pivotal party in the new political framework, would “move more to the right or more to the left” , depending on the issues under discussion. The first move will take place this Friday, with everything indicating that it will be leaning towards the right. The proposals on immigration, which envisage tightening entry and nationality granting rules, go straight to the heart of Chega’s political discourse and will most likely be approved by André Ventura’s party, which met with Luís Montenegro late on Thursday afternoon to reach an agreement on the matter.

A government source told Nascer do SOL that "from now on it is like this, there is a government that governs and depending on the proposals, the two parties (PS and Chega) are closer, or not" . The same source notes that, unlike the previous legislature, it is enough for one of the two largest opposition parties to abstain for the government's proposals to pass.

At the end of the cabinet meeting, António Leitão Amaro, who is responsible for immigration, expressed confidence in the approval of the legislation that the Government will submit to Parliament and showed openness to adjustments in the debate on the specifics. Before that, the Social Democrats, through Hugo Soares, had already rejected the Socialist leader's suggestion that the proposals be sent to the committee, without a general vote. José Luís Carneiro, who had already expressed the PS's opposition to the AD's proposals as they stand, tried to find a middle ground by suggesting that the vote be postponed, so as not to be left out of the debate. The PSD's immediate refusal dashed the Socialist efforts and, at the time of going to press, the scenario on the table was that the Executive's proposals would be approved, with the votes of Chega and the Liberal Initiative.

For Leitão Amaro, this Friday's vote is a first test "for each party and for each of the largest parties" . For the minister responsible for presenting the proposals, this is a defining moment in terms of immigration policy and the parties will be called upon to decide "whether they want to preserve what is left over from a period of easing, or contribute to a change in policy that has been in place since last year? It will define the position they take in the end, demonstrating where each of these parties will stand" .

The commitment to changing immigration rules in Portugal dates back to the previous legislature and was the issue that Luís Montenegro's government tried to appeal to Chega's voters from the beginning. During the election campaign, AD_made immigration a banner, seeking to show the results of the work done during the government's 11 months in office. Now, it is the Executive's inaugural initiative and probably the first agreement between Montenegro and André Ventura, at a time when "no means no" must necessarily have other interpretations.

Laws may end up in the Constitutional Court

The changes proposed by the Government to the family reunification regime and the extension of deadlines for accessing Portuguese nationality are two issues that have raised doubts about their constitutionality.

In particular, with regard to family reunification, the fact that the proposal excludes “highly qualified professionals, ‘golden visa’ holders and EU Blue Card holders”. According to several opinions, the criteria for who is subject to the new rules and who is excluded is unconstitutional because it discriminates against people based on their income.

As for the new rules for nationality applications, doubts about compliance with the fundamental law concern the deadlines and their differentiation depending on the immigrants' country of origin.

The argument that the proposals are unconstitutional is exactly what the socialists have used to justify their opposition and it is exactly with the argument of “dispelling doubts about constitutionality” that José Luís Carneiro requested that the diplomas be downgraded to the specialty without a vote.

These and other doubts are also on the mind of the President of the Republic, who warns that he will be attentive to the laws that reach him at the Belém Palace. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who regretted being “called to make this assessment at a time, I admit, when I imagined that my life would be easier at the end of my second term”, shares not only some constitutional doubts, but is also concerned about the majority that, in the Assembly of the Republic, will approve the new laws.

Speaking to journalists this week, the President assured that he will pay close attention to the constitutional issues in the legislation that comes his way. According to Marcelo, the new laws will require a more detailed analysis, even if they are purged of the most obvious non-conformities. The head of state, who is also a constitutionalist, admits that they are “probably not patently unconstitutional” , but that, in his view, does not invalidate the need for an assessment by the judges of the Ratton Palace. The President says that this is the only way to avoid the possibility that “each court may have a different interpretation” . The President, who assured that he has not yet read the proposals that the government sent to Parliament, nevertheless raises questions regarding the deadlines set for access to nationality and the exclusion of some citizens from the new rules for family reunification.

In the same statements, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa did not rule out the possibility of a presidential veto, depending on the final outcome of the legislation approved in São Bento. In addition to the two laws on nationality and family reunification, another proposal is also on the table: the creation of a foreigners and borders unit within the PSP.

The proposal is based on a similar one, presented in the last legislature and rejected with the votes against from the socialists and Chega. At the time, the Government did not fail to accuse the two parties of collusion, on a matter dear to André Ventura's party. The new PSP unit proposed by the AD is considered essential for border control, which, according to the Executive, has ceased to be effective with the abolition of the SEF.

Apparently, this time the initiative should pass, especially because in the proposals it presented on immigration, Chega also proposes the creation of an entity that is very similar.

As with the other two proposals, the Socialist Party is also opposed to the creation of this new unit. It was during António Costa's time that the Foreigners and Borders Service was eliminated, following the case of a Ukrainian citizen killed at Lisbon airport at the hands of this police entity.

Although he was not yet the Minister of Internal Affairs – Eduardo Cabrita was the Minister – José Luís Carneiro was the Minister in charge of formalising the dissolution of the border police. The now socialist leader knows that those times will be remembered and used against him, whenever it suits Luís Montenegro and the Government. In fact, the argument was already used in the first biweekly debate of the new legislature, with Carneiro asking to speak to defend his honour. The new socialist secretary-general made a point of reminding people that the decision to disband the SEF had not been his responsibility and that it was only his responsibility to follow up on a decision that had already been made.

This Friday, the issue will not go unnoticed, with AD_a wanting to take advantage of the argument that the socialists left the country in chaos in terms of immigration and that they have not yet turned the page on that past. The discussion around the new services and foreigners unit will be the argument of a first parliamentary battle in which Montenegro chose to negotiate on the right. The PS should remain outside this consensus.

700,000 nationality applications pending

At the same time, the situation in the registry offices remains chaotic. “They promised us Ferraris, but they gave us scrap metal to work with,” the president of the Registry and Notary Workers’ Union (STRN) told Nascer do SOL , describing the collapse of recent years in the services, where “700,000 applications for nationality” are currently accumulating. According to Arménio Maximino, around 30% of the pending applications will be for the naturalization of immigrants, another 30% for descendants of Sephardic Jews and the remainder for people of Portuguese descent.

The number continues to grow, fuelled by the “rush to the registry offices” following the Government’s announcement of changes to the Nationality Law, which tightens the rules. Hundreds of citizens rushed to the offices of the Registry and Notary Institute last week seeking to submit applications before the new measures come into force.

Although the STRN refers to the number of 700 thousand pending applications, the Government and the IRN have not released figures on the number of cases. Contacted by Nascer do SOL , a source from the Ministry of Justice stressed that these figures are not official and only confirmed that the figures are being verified for future publication, without giving any deadline, even referring to the overload on services. As far as Nascer do SOL knows, the Government does not want the publication of official figures on pending nationality applications to taint the debate and vote on the proposals, this Friday, in the Assembly of the Republic. Our newspaper has been requesting this information in recent weeks, with no response so far.

After the STRN had already submitted a number of pending requests, the Government announced the reinforcement of 11 technical assistants — four for the Central Registry Office in Lisbon and seven for the Central Archive in Porto. However, the union leader considers this to be a “diversionary tactic” . According to Arménio Maximino, the technical assistants “do not have the skills to analyse or decide on nationality cases” . He goes further, saying that the Government’s announcement is “insulting to workers” and “disrespectful to citizens” , who have been waiting for years for a response.

The IRN services still have cases from 2021 to analyze. Neither the submission by mail nor the computer platform – created for the electronic submission of applications and financed by the PRR – have solved the problem. The digital tool is reserved for lawyers and solicitors, which immediately limits the number of immigrants whose cases can be processed online. “Even if all applications were submitted digitally, we have no one to process them,” adds the union leader. The situation is further aggravated by constant technological failures.

For Arménio Maximino, the reason for the “disaster” he says exists is the lack of qualified personnel: there is a shortage of 266 registrars and more than 1,800 registry officers, according to the union. Most of the vacancies opened in recent competitions have not been filled, reflecting the low attractiveness of the careers, inadequate salaries, aging of the staff (the average age is around 60 years old), in addition to degraded conditions, with registry offices without air conditioning.

For the STRN, it is urgent to implement a contingency plan, with effective reinforcement of staff, career development and investment in technical resources. Otherwise, there is a risk that registry offices will start to close their doors, leaving thousands of citizens with their lives on hold. The Porto Central Archive itself has already had to close its face-to-face service in order to process pending requests. If the registrars and registration officers are at the 'counter', there is no one to 'move forward' with the processes and even more pending cases accumulate.