Immigration changes to be voted on this week // Heatwave breaks June record twice // Death during strike ‘could have been prevented’
Portuguese news in English on Monday, July 1, 2025.
Immigration changes to be voted on this week
Immigrants who’ve already spent five years living legally in Portugal may still be able to apply for citizenship normally, Público reports, citing official sources. The paper was told those who’d passed that milestone as of June 18 this year would be protected from the government’s sweeping proposed changes to the citizenship law (Read more in last week’s Portugal Weekly). “Everyone who has completed the five years of residency by June 18 and meets the legal criteria will be able to apply for residency through length of residency normally,” one of the sources said. “The new laws come into force from June 19, as in the proposal.” Bear in mind this is an unnamed source and anything could change as the centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD, made up of PSD and CDS-PP) coalition negotiates with either the centre-left Socialist Party or far-right Chega. Some legal experts questioned by Público argued the old laws remained in effect until new laws were passed and that making the change retroactive would be unconstitutional. Braga Bar Association head Bruno Gutman said laws had to be valid from the moment they came into effect, arguing insisting on the cut-off date would prompt a flood of legal action.
The timeline for the changes
The changes to citizenship and immigration will be urgently debated and voted on this week in parliament, facing discussion in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees on Tuesday or Wednesday. That will be followed by a general debate and vote in the Assembly of the Republic on Friday, followed by more specific debate back in the standing committee. The government expects the process to be completed by the end of the month. The president can then approve, reject or send the changes to the Constitutional Court within a month.
Demands from Chega, reactions from PS
Chega leader André Ventura has laid out what his party wants in order to support the minority AD government’s changes to immigration, Público reports. They include automatic stripping of citizenship for naturalised citizens who commit serious crimes, limiting family reunion visas, forcing anyone who enters Portugal illegally to leave before they can apply for residency and the revocation of special rights allowing citizens from Portuguese-speaking countries (CPLP) to get residency after entering as a tourist or student. PS, now the second biggest opposition party, showed varied reactions to the government’s proposals, Expresso reports. Interim parliamentary leader Pedro Delgado Alves expressed concerns but said he was open to negotiating while MP Isabel Moreira wrote on social media that some of the changes were “unacceptable” and the proposal “inhumane and dangerous”. Parties further to the left were even harsher in their criticisms.
Petition pushes back on changes
A petition calling for a “fair transitional regime” for citizenship for those already living here legally has passed 7500 signatures, meaning it will have to be reviewed in parliament, SIC Notícias reports. The majority of employers' associations are concerned the changes will affect their ability to hire, Expresso reports, after Presidency Minister António Leitão Amaro said the economy would “have to adapt”. At the weekend, he told foreign journalists the measures were still not finalised, saying some of the decisions of the past week had been the hardest in his life, Expresso reports
Heatwave breaks June record twice
Portugal’s preliminary temperature record for June was broken two days in a row as the country baked in a heatwave across the weekend, Expresso reports. On Saturday, the mercury hit 45.4°C, half a degree hotter than the previous June record, in Alvega, in the Ribatejo region. Not to be outdone, Mora, near Évora, hit 46.6°C on Sunday, just 0.7°C away from the all-time heat record. Seven districts — Lisbon, Setúbal, Santarém, Évora, Beja, Castelo Branco and Portalegre — were placed on red alert for heat until this Tuesday, with orange warnings in the rest of the country. Spain also broke its June temperature record with 46°C in Granado.
A special rural fire combat unit is still five helicopters short of the number it says is needed, as the most critical phase of the year for forest fires begins this Tuesday, Expresso reports. The unit had been aiming to have 79 aircraft operating. The country can also rely on some medium-sized amphibian Fire Boss planes through the EU’s rescEU mechanism, if local options aren’t enough.
Death during INEM strike ‘could have been prevented’
An investigation has found a 53-year-old man’s death during a strike could have been prevented with a response in a “reasonable” time, Público reports. The Inspectorate-General for Health Activities published its report last week into the Pombal man’s death in November last year after suffering a heart attack. On one of the days when workers at the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) were striking, he waited one hour and 50 minutes between the first call to the 112 emergency number and when the most specialised ambulance arrived. The report found the wait was “excessive” considering he could have been taken to a closer hospital through a cardiac fast lane. The Ministry of Health argued the failures were provoked by “individual behaviour” after the emergency call was attended. The report found negligence or misunderstanding of their duties from one emergency service call operator and a doctor responsible for triage and other important roles in Coimbra. It described a lack of “zeal, care or diligence”. (You can read more about the strikes in a Portugal Weekly from November).
Health Minister Ana Paula Martins refused to resign over the findings, arguing there was no relation between the death and the strikes, Público reports. But law professor Dr João Pacheco Amorim said the existence of “gross negligence” couldn’t be imputed to the two workers because the system failed. He had no doubt the service itself was responsible.
In brief
Portugal to spend about €1 billion to hit NATO defence spending goals. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro promised Portugal would spend 2% of GDP on defence this year, raising to 5% (3.5% on defence itself and 1.5% on the industrial base and critical infrastructure) by 2035. It’s in line with other members except Spain after goading from US President Donald Trump (Público)
How Lisbon put itself on the map for real estate and tourism – and became Europe’s least affordable city (comment). Lisbon has gone from one of Europe’s most affordable to least affordable cities in a decade as house prices jumped 200% in the historic centre. (The Guardian, in English)
New PS leader promises to be ‘considered’ in role as ‘loyal and responsible opposition'. José Luís Carneiro, who was elected to replace Pedro Nuno Santos with 95% of the vote, criticised AD and populists but insisted he was open to trying to find consensus with the government in certain areas. (Público)
Traditional tiles disappearing from popular Lisbon lookout. The restoration of Alfama’s Miradouro de Santa Luzia in 2015 won an award but the stealing and destruction of azulejos has been getting worse in recent months. Lisbon City Council is being urged to act. (Público)
Almost half of Lisbon's street food record ‘unsatisfactory’ microbiological quality. The study, published last week, tested 118 ready-to-eat samples from 39 sales points across the city from March 2019 to December 2022, finding 2.6% of items were potentially dangerous. (Público) (Abstract in Portuguese and English)
Government proposes tax cut until the second-highest tax bracket. If approved by the parliament, it would mean a saving of €2 to €15 a month for those earning between €1000 and €3000. (Público)
On a lighter note
Rain or shine, every day Manuel Silva, 65, follows the same path morning and afternoon, collecting more than 150 kilograms of cardboard to recycle, Público reports. He took up the informal job 17 years ago after losing his job and seeing other people collecting cardboard, but now he’s sure he’s Porto’s last cardboard collector. Even Manuel will be gone soon. His landlord isn’t planning to renew his contract on the warehouse but he says it’s no good for his health anymore and really doesn’t pay off financially anyway. He explained that for 2180 kilograms —almost two months’ work — he earned €152. But now his work is being celebrated in a multimedia exposition at MIRA Galerias, two doors down from where he stores the recycling before selling it to China. It was inaugurated on Saturday with photos, a documentary and video projections and will run until July 26 from Wednesday to Saturday, 3-7pm.