Law 18/2022, published on 25th August 2022, modifies the regime for entry, stay, exit and expulsion of foreigners from the national territory.
Law 18/2022, published on 25th August 2022, modifies the regime for entry, stay, exit and expulsion of foreigners from the national territory.
The amendments introduced by this new law aim to change the way in which public administration relates to immigrants and guarantee conditions for their integration, contributing, therefore, to the country's development.
The diploma revokes some laws regarding residence visas for the exercise of a subordinate professional activity. Applicants who meet the general requirements and have a promise or contract of employment, or individualized expression of interest from an employer, are now entitled to obtain this visa.
Additionally, it is no longer required that the applicant has previously entered a service contract or has been the recipient of a contractual offer, in order to obtain visas for the exercise of an independent professional activity.
The new provisions also include the creation of a limited duration visa which allows the legal entry of immigrants in Portugal with the purpose of seeking work. This visa is valid for 120 days and may be extended for 60 days. However, a transport document is required to ensure the applicant's return to their country of origin.
Once the validity of the visa expires without a work relationship having been established and without the starting process of obtaining a residence permit, the applicant must return to the country of origin and can only reapply for this type of visa after one year.
It is also important to emphasize the special conditions for granting visas to citizens of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP), under the Agreement on Mobility between Member States of the CPLP. In this context, these applicants are exempted from the prior notice of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF), the databases of the Schengen Information System (SIS) are directly and immediately consulted and the issuing of visas may only be refused if there is an indication that entry and residence is prohibited.
The temporary stay visa and the residence visa may now be issued to "digital nomads", i.e., foreigners who exercise a subordinate or independent professional activity, provided remotely to an individual or collective person with domicile or head office outside national territory, through the demonstration of the employment link or the provision of services.
Finally, this diploma eliminates immigration quotas and introduces a set of measures aimed at facilitating the issuing of visas for foreign students, including the permission to exercise a complementary subordinated or independent work activity for holders of a residence permit for study, research, traineeship or volunteering.
Law 18/2022 came into force on 26th August 2022, and the new regulatory regime for the entry, stay, exit and expulsions of foreigners from the national territory came into force on 30th October 2022.