António José Seguro, President of Portugal, has promulgated the country’s new immigration and asylum legislation, three days after the Constitutional Court cleared the contested provisions.

This law changes the rules governing entry, residence, removal and detention of foreign nationals, as well as the procedures for granting asylum and international protection, which forms part of Portugal’s implementation of the EU’s new Migration and Asylum Pact, introduced on 12 June 2026.

Seguro’s decision on Monday, 31 August, followed a unanimous Constitutional Court ruling on Friday which found no grounds to declare the 11 provisions it had been asked to examine unconstitutional.

The President had referred those provisions to the court earlier this month, saying he had serious doubts over whether some of the measures adequately protected children and whether restrictions on the liberty of foreign nationals were proportionate.

According to the Presidency, Seguro has now accepted the court’s interpretation, which also provides guidance for judges and administrative authorities when applying the new rules.

Family concerns

Among the main concerns were parts of the legislation affecting foreign parents with children of Portuguese nationality.

Under the new rules, a foreign national who has a Portuguese minor in their care can, in certain circumstances, be subject to forced removal or expulsion.

However, the Constitutional Court stressed that this cannot happen automatically, as authorities must consider the circumstances of each individual case, including the child’s best interests and the unity of family life.

This new legislation also changes the existing protection against removal, with the relevant threshold set at five years of residence, meaning children born in Portugal who are under five are no longer automatically covered by the previous protection.

The court considered the five-year threshold not to be manifestly arbitrary, pointing to similar concepts in EU law and legislation in other countries, including Spain.

Detention rules

Another major concern raised by Seguro involved the possibility of detaining children seeking international protection.

This new law establishes that detention of minors should, as a rule, be prohibited, but it can be considered in exceptional circumstances and only as a last resort, after less restrictive alternatives have been assessed.

Furthermore, the legislation also increases the potential maximum period for which some foreign nationals can be held in temporary detention facilities while removal proceedings are underway.

The standard period is 180 days, but this can be extended by another 180 days in cases involving a lack of cooperation or delays in obtaining the necessary documentation from third countries. In practice, the maximum can therefore reach 360 days.

Migration reforms

On 17 July, the legislation was approved by Parliament with PSD, CDS, and Iniciativa Liberal voting in favour, with Chega abstaining and the left-wing parties voting against it.

Seguro subsequently sent parts of the legislation to the Constitutional Court for preventive review before deciding whether to promulgate it.

On 28 August, the Constitutional Court’s ruling cleared all 11 provisions examined, addressing issues ranging from the removal of foreign parents of Portuguese children and the treatment of children born in Portugal to detention, border-return procedures and the protection of refugees.

Following that ruling, Seguro proceeded with promulgation on Monday.

The President said the reforms were desirable, while insisting that changes to immigration and asylum policy must be implemented with legal certainty and in accordance with Portugal’s Constitution and its international obligations.