News article by Margarida Mendes, Lawyer - International Atlantic Services

The latest amendment to the Entry, stay, leave and removal of foreigners from the national territory Act was published on the 25th of August and has taken effect on the 26th of August.

The new legal regulation seeks to make the proceedings for visas and residence permits lighter, faster and less bureaucratic.

The most significant alterations are in summary:

I. facilitate the issuance of visas for CPLP citizens (the Community of Portuguese Language Countries);

II. Create a visa for job seekers;

III. Putting an end to the quota regime for immigration;

IV. Make it easier to obtain residence visas for foreign students attending higher education in Portugal;

V. Simplify the residence visa for seasonal workers and introduces a new regime for workers transferred from other member states, as long as they are integrated in the company's staff.

VI. Facilitate the family reunification;

VII. Grant a residence or temporary stay visa to digital nomads.

Besides the creation of new types of visas, the following procedural measures are also of note:

• Automatic attribution of provisional TINs, NISSs and User ID numbers within the scope of the residence visa: with the granting of the residence visa, a residence pre-authorization is issued, containing information regarding obtaining the residence permit and the provisional attribution of the fiscal identification number, social security number and user number.
• Recognizes the rights of caretakers and informal companions: without prejudice to the rules on family reunification, the granting of a residence permit pursuant to paragraph 1 (g) shall be extended to a foreign citizen accompanying the applicant as an informal companion or caretaker and may be requested simultaneously.

Impact to the Golden Visa Program:

The new alterations will not affect the Golden Visa Program.