Portugal’s majority ‘of the right’ in parliament (albeit still not a truly comfortable one) has ensured that one of ‘stumbling blocks’ to immigration reform has finally been approved – that of the loss of nationality to any foreign-born citizen found guilty of serious crimes.
A total of 151 MPs (PSD, CHEGA, IL, and CDS-PP) voted in favour, while 65 (PS, Livre, PCP, BE, JPP, and PAN) voted against.
With 216 MPs present, the count surpassed the required absolute majority of 116 necessary for organic laws.
The result was ‘historic’ in that it showed that the AD government can ‘do business’ with CHEGA (even after the PM’s ‘no is no’ assertions in the 2024 elections) and that Constitutional issues are not accepted blindly.
Parliament received the original bill back after constitutional judges declared several rules in the main article unconstitutional – citing violations of the principle of equality.
The new text will proceed to the presidency after the final wording has been set.
President António José Seguro may then enact the bill, veto it, or request a new constitutional review.
MPs who supported the bill applauded at the end of the vote, with the CHEGA and CDS-PP benches standing.
The new bill – based on a CHEGA proposal – stipulates that individuals sentenced to effective imprisonment of five years or more for crimes committed within 15 years of obtaining Portuguese citizenship will lose their nationality.
The previous version of the bill specified four-year sentences and crimes committed within 10 years of acquisition of nationality, while the original government (PSD and CDS-PP) proposal suggested a six-year threshold.
The list of crimes leading to loss of nationality, proposed by PSD and CDS-PP, will include murder, slavery, human trafficking, rape, sexual abuse, and crimes against state security. It also covers offences related to terrorist groups, terrorist activities, and the financing of terrorism.
CHEGA successfully included criminal association in the bill, specifically “when based on activities related to the aforementioned crimes, arms trafficking or drug trafficking” and “provided the guilty party is a leader or director of the association”.
Previous references in the bill regarding the possession of prohibited weapons, crimes committed with weapons, arms trafficking, and drug trafficking were removed.
Regarding the timeframe to reacquire nationality, the approved CHEGA proposal determines that a citizen who loses Portuguese citizenship may reapply between 10 and 25 years after the conviction becomes final, depending on the specific crime.
The PSD and CDS-PP proposed a clause stating that the judge who applies the penalty of loss of nationality will determine when a citizen may reapply for it. The judge “must weigh prevention needs, the degree of unlawfulness and the method of execution, the gravity of its consequences, the degree and intensity of the perpetrator’s guilt, the degree of violation of imposed duties, and the circumstances of the case which, while not part of the type of crime, testify in favour of or against the agent.”
The Constitutional Court’s reason for declaring the original bill unconstitutional was that it violated the principle of equality. Judges argued that applying the accessory penalty of loss of nationality “only to non-original citizens who have committed a criminal offence in the 10 years following acquisition of Portuguese nationality violates the principle of equality enshrined in Article 13 of the Constitution”.
Source: LUSA
