Parliamentary debate on the changes that Portugal’s current government seeks to bring in to tighten controls on immigration has been delayed for a second time, until tomorrow afternoon.
The reason given is “the entrance of various last minute changes”.
The idea remains that the bill can be voted on before the end of this month.
PS Socialists, Iniciativa Liberal, LIVRE and CHEGA have all delivered their ‘proposals’ for fine-tuning/ improvements, and the PSD/ CDS executive has also altered its initial proposal – beyond the alterations prompted by the president’s initial veto.
CHEGA’s proposals essentially seek to harden the government’s stance in a number of ways: the party wants to extend the time-scale in which children born in Portugal to immigrant parents can claim Portuguese nationality; it wants to see foreigners stripped of nationality if they commit serious crimes within 20 years of becoming national citizens (the government is seeking a time limit of 10 years), and it wants to limit applications for nationality to people who have not taken advantage of social benefits for three years after receiving residency in Portugal.
PS Socialists have gone ‘the other way’, calling for balance/ proportionality and political consensus – and seeking still to favour citizens from Portuguese-speaking countries (Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Brazil, São Tomé e Príncipe, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea).
IL wants to go further when it comes to the limit on years of residence before nationality can be sought (the party wants 10 years, when the government seeks seven, and the PS is comfortable with just five).
LIVRE is calling for ‘greater protection for refugees and their children’.
Source: SIC
