The articles written by the PÚBLICO Brasil team are written in the variant of the Portuguese language used in Brazil.
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The Assembly of the Republic today approved a change in the law that extinguished the Expression of Interest. According to the amendment, immigrants from outside the European Union who have made Social Security contributions for twelve months before the date on which the Expression of Interest was terminated – June 3, 2024 – will be able to obtain this document, which is the first step to obtain a residence permit in the country.
Until June 3rd, the Foreigners Law (27/2003) provided that an illegal immigrant who was in the country and had a NIF, NISS and employment contract or green receipts could begin the process to obtain a residence permit just by sending an Expression of Interest. On that day, anyone who had not completed the process lost that right.
For the government, the end of the Expression of Interest was positive. On September 30, the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, António Leitão Amaro, stated that, with the end of the Expression of Interest, the number of residency applications fell by 80%.
The bill to modify the law was presented by the Liberal Initiative party on July 24, with the aim of correcting the government’s mistakes by eliminating from one day to the next the possibility of immigrants being able to take the first step towards their legalization after having moved. to Portugal. All parties voted in favor, with the exception of Chega. The approval of the law takes place on the same day that a demonstration in front of the Assembly of the Republic for the return of the Expression of Interest.
Does not solve
For lawyer Izabela Vasconcelos, despite the modification, the problem will continue. “This does not resolve the issue. The only people who will benefit from this are those who already had 12 months of contributions. But if a person arrived in January, the situation will be the same”, he assesses.
She indicates other cases in which immigrants will not have met the conditions to obtain legalization. For example, people who may have been there for longer, but were unemployed for a few months and, even though they currently contribute to Social Security, will not be able to make an Expression of Interest.
According to lawyer Bruno Gutman, the problem will continue. “This only partially solves the problem. But the worst situation is that of the guy who had been contributing for 11 months on the day the law changed. This has to be resolved or they will decide to send everyone away. People cannot remain in limbo”, states.
He believes the measure is unfair. “The fairest thing would be for all immigrants who were in the country until June 3, when the law was changed, to be able to legalize themselves. Those who arrived later already knew that the rules of the game had changed”, he considers.
But for Gutman, if illegal immigrants were expelled, the country would create new problems. “Who will pick potatoes? Who will pick blueberries? Who will work on construction sites? And in restaurants”, he asks.
