Foreigners Law: new version of the law maintains two years for family reunification, but allows exceptions

The new proposed amendment to the Foreigners Law maintains the two-year period of valid residence to request family reunification, but allows for several exceptions, including for spouses, the Minister of the Presidency announced today.

At a press conference, António Leitão Amaro explained that, although the general two-year period indicated in the diploma rejected by the Constitutional Court will remain in place, this will increase to one year in the case of spouses who cohabited with the applicant for family reunification in the year before the applicant immigrated to Portugal.

The minister also said that the proposal, submitted today to the Assembly of the Republic by the PSD and CDS-PP parliamentary groups, extends the solution of waiving the time limit that was already provided for minors to adults who are incapacitated and are dependent on the immigrant and the child's father or mother.