Citizens who already had an employment contract or green receipts before June 3, when the Government ended this regime, and had not started will be covered. The bill was proposed by the Liberal Initiative.
There are several cases, considering the reports that have been coming since June 3. “I am working in Portugal with a contract, but I did not have time to request the expression of interest (MI)”. This is the summary of the situation of immigrants who were caught by surprise when the expressions of interest ended in June. When the MI ended, the Government guaranteed that those who had already started the process would have their situation analyzed.
Because the decision has immediate effects, some people who were already working in Portugal and had not taken this step were left without the possibility of regularizing their situation in this way. Now, a change in the law will benefit these citizens. A transitional regime proposed by the Liberal Initiative (IL) and approved by Parliament comes into force today - Chega was the only party to vote against it.
The publication was published yesterday in the Official Gazette. In theory, it is already law. In practice, it will be up to the Government to adapt the change in legislation. The Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) will have to adapt the procedures in light of this change. With the portal for the old expressions of interest already closed, it is not yet known whether the document application will be online. It is not possible to say, at this time, how many people are in this situation.
The law is clear when it states that it will only benefit people who were working in Portugal before June 3. In other words, anyone who arrived in the country after this date will not be able to access the residence permit through this mechanism. An official source from IL, has assured that there is no minimum contribution period to benefit from this transitional regime. “There is no minimum. People also did not know that the law was going to change”, he explained.
The party's justification for proposing this change is based on the principle of trust. “The need to safeguard the situation of people who have already regularized their situation with Social Security so that their legitimate expectations are not frustrated, in light of the principle of protection of trust”. In an opinion sent to the committee that discussed this bill, AIMA stressed that it is “essential to determine how the citizens covered can submit these requests, the measures that allow for the prevention of document fraud and to establish a time limit for the exercise of this right”.
Government yet has to comment about how the change will be implemented, but has not yet received a response. Minister António Leitão Amaro, responsible for the area, will be in Parliament today to discuss the State Budget in detail, at which time issues related to migration will be discussed.