The New Government in Portugal, although a minority in Parliament, is pursuing significant reforms across several sectors, including Immigration and nationality law changes in Portugal. So far, these proposed changes have failed progressing, sparked controversy and debate in Portugal, amid concerns expressed by notable persons, associations, law firms and foreign residents in Portugal.
Immigration – Proposed Changes
- Restrict family reunification (while exempting Golden Visa and highly qualified applicants), and
- Limit the use of court actions to accelerate appointments and decisions
The Constitutional Court struck down 5 of the 7 proposals as unconstitutional, returning the law to Parliament for revision.
The Court’s ruling recognized the benefits of the Golden Visa program and its importance to Portugal, while affirming the constitutional protection of investors and favorable treatment for investors. The above proposed immigration amendments have limited impact on Golden Visa investors. There is a broad political support for the Golden Visa program, with recognition of its utility and importance to Portugal.
Nationality Law – Proposed Changes
The nationality law amendment proposal, first presented in July, included three major points affecting Golden Visa applicants:
- No grandfathering clause for ongoing residence applications,
- A new starting point for counting years of residence towards nationality (from first card instead of initial online application), and
- An extension of the required residence period from 5 to 10 years.
Several constitutional law professors — including the “Father” of the Portuguese Constitution — have spoken against the proposal.
The proposal failed to reach consensus in Parliament and discussion was suspended until October
Whats Next
- Parliamentary work is expected to be suspended on October 6th due to local elections taking place on October 12th, 2025
- The Government must also present the State Budget Proposal form 2026 year to Parliament by October 10th.
Nothing is sure until any immigration amendments duly implemented by AIMA or legislated and validated by Parliament, the President, and the Constitutional Court, as applicable, we expect that investors will soon see progress and greater clarity regarding future access conditions to Portuguese nationality.
Backlogs
Portugal resolving backlog of 400,000 applications accumulated two years ago from Covid times, from SEF to AIMA through streamlined application, employing more staffs and upgrading IT systems and investing millions of euros.
Authorities have also conveyed that is a priority to resolve existing backlogs and improve the program,
New measures to address current backlogs are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
A fully digital case management portal is under development, aimed at providing greater transparency and efficiency in processing the Golden Visa applications.
More officers were hired for the Golden Visa department and internal recovery plans are being considered, with expectations that all pending cases will be scheduled for appointments between November 2025 and February 2026.
- Clients holding expired Golden Visas: Renewal requests must be submitted by the lawyer by October 15th. General rule the investor is not required to come – lawyer will be able to represent you before AIMA presenting the standard original renewal documents .
- Clients with pending concession (first card) applications (without an appointment or biometrics collected yet): You should expect to receive an appointment in the coming months to attend AIMA meeting in person between November – February.
- Clients and prospective investors who are in the process of deciding or investing: Action should be taken promptly in order to avoid being affected by the forthcoming legislation, which is expected to be more demanding.
New applications are also experiencing better timings. We are confident that the program will soon return to offering shorter processing times
Source/Credit: Prime Legal
