"What is happening is a huge setback for immigrants' rights and the rule of law," the president of the country's largest immigrant association told Lusa.

Among other points, Timóteo Macedo criticized the establishment of a general two-year period for family reunification applications, accompanied by "a system of exceptions one after the other."

"This process of applying for family reunification is an inviolable and non-negotiable right," the president of Immigrant Solidarity emphasized, noting that it is already being made more difficult today.

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa justified the enactment of the revised Foreigners' Law, approved by 70% of the deputies, by stating that the law "meets at least the essential aspects of the doubts of unconstitutionality raised by it and confirmed by the Constitutional Court."

The Legislative Assembly decree amends the legal framework for the entry, stay, departure, and removal of foreigners from the national territory.

The new regime limits work-seeking visas to "qualified workers," restricts the possibility of family reunification for immigrants to foreigners with residence permits in Portugal—not including refugees—and alters the conditions for granting residence permits to citizens of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP).

Among the changes introduced in the new decree regarding family reunification, the principle remains that this right can only be exercised by foreign citizens who have held a valid residence permit in Portugal "for at least two years." This period does not apply to "minors or dependent persons" or to "spouses or equivalent persons, with the holder of a residence permit, who are parents or adoptive parents of minors or dependent persons."

To be able to request reunification with a "spouse or equivalent who cohabited with the holder for at least 18 months in the period immediately prior to the latter's entry into national territory," a period of "15 months" of legal residence in Portugal is established.

The two-year requirement remains as a condition for requesting reunification with a spouse or equivalent who does not meet these requirements, as well as other family members, adult children, and ascendants who are not incapacitated.

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