New Foreigners’ Law halted at Belém: President sent it to the Constitutional Court
On 7 August, the President of the Republic requested a preventive constitutionality review of the Parliament decree amending the regimes on entry, stay, exit and removal of foreigners and on asylum (Decree no. 105/XVII). Among the constitutional doubts raised are the possibility of separating parents from children and the consequential removal of Portuguese minors, the substantial increase in administrative detention periods for foreigners who have committed no crime, and the downgrade of the effect of challenges to unfavourable decisions against protection applicants from suspensive to merely devolutive. The Constitutional Court has 25 days to rule (article 278(8) of the Constitution), counted from 07/08. Until then, nothing changes: the current regime on entry, stay and removal remains fully in force. Ref.: official note of the Presidency of the Republic, 07/08/2026; Parliament Decree no. 105/XVII.
Nationality regulations still unpublished — Government’s deadline runs out on 16 August
The 90-day deadline that Organic Law no. 1/2026 gave the Government to revise the Nationality Regulation (Decree-Law no. 237-A/2006) ends on 16 August — and, as of 13 August, no decree-law had been published, nor had the matter gone through July’s Cabinet meetings. In practice, the new requirements in force since 19 May — a test or certificate of language, culture, history and national symbols, a solemn declaration of adherence to the principles of the democratic rule of law, proof of means of subsistence — remain without operational regulation, and no tests are being applied. Remember that applications pending on 19/05/2026 follow the old law and that, for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries, the language requirement is presumed met. Anyone preparing naturalisation applications should closely monitor the publication of the new regulation, which may come out at any moment. Ref.: Organic Law no. 1/2026 of 18 May, articles 4, 6 and 7 (Official Gazette no. 95/2026, 1st series).
Suing AIMA outside Lisbon: government bill has now reached Parliament
The proposal approved at the Cabinet meeting of 23 July entered Parliament on 10 August (Government Bill no. 98/XVII): actions against AIMA will be filed in the court of the applicant’s residence or registered office, ending the concentration in the Lisbon Administrative Circle Court — where around 131,000 cases came to be pending —, and specialised immigration and asylum benches will be created, with stronger case-management powers for the CSTAF. In parallel, a bill was approved introducing simplified procedures for administrative actions up to €15,000. None of this is in force yet: the new rules depend on parliamentary approval and only enter into force 30 days after publication — for now, the forum remains Lisbon. Ref.: Government Bill no. 98/XVII, entered Parliament 10/08/2026; Cabinet communiqué of 23/07/2026.
Renewals: portal now accepts permits expiring in November and December
In early August, AIMA opened the Renewals Portal to holders of residence permits expiring in November and December 2026 — until then, the portal only took permits expiring up to October. Start the application at least 30 days before expiry; fees must be paid within 24 hours of the payment slips being issued, and the application receipt evidences lawful stay until the new card arrives. Mind the limits: the portal only serves permits valid from 01/07/2025 onwards (those expired earlier go through services.aima.gov.pt), CPLP renewals follow their own procedure, and the system automatically validates tax and social security numbers — outdated data or an irregular situation blocks the application before review. Ref.: AIMA Renewals Portal (portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt); opening of the Nov./Dec. cycle reported on 03/08/2026 based on AIMA information.
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