The Nationality Law was discussed in the committee stage today – after considerable to-ing and fro-ing and various delays – without the parties reaching an agreement.
Given the complexity of the vote, the law was voted on clause by clause and this is how it ended up being ultimately approved.
The result does not guarantee approval in parliament, stress reports.
The law now limps forward to the final stage: an overall vote, which will take place in parliament next Tuesday (October 28).
How voting went
Some paragraphs of the law – already a ‘replacement text’ from the PSD/CDS government – were approved by CHEGA, others by PS Socialists. But there are a number of issues that distance both opposition parties from each other. For instance, the PS has criticised what it considers to be the more right-wing side of the law, leaving the committee saying the country now has “a worse law that will make life difficult for many people who want to obtain Portuguese nationality”, while CHEGA says that many of the points it didn’t approve were ‘red lines’ – especially the party’s main red line: the automatic loss of nationality for those who commit serious crimes. This clause was not approved because the PSD did not want it.
Despite the differences that separate them, there are gains on both sides and some expectation that next Tuesday, when the law already includes amendments that were discussed today, it may be approved, says SIC.
Law may extend deadline for claiming nationality
The government currently has a five-year requirement for immigrants to claim Portuguese nationality, and wants to extend this to 10 years. The proposed law stipulates seven years for citizens of the European Union and the CPLP, and 10 years for the rest. PS want less. Luís Montenegro’s executive rejected this and CHEGA ended up voting in favour of the PSD’s proposal, albeit it may not be so accommodating next Tuesday.
Source material: SIC Notícias
