Supreme Court Removes Immigration Bill, Immigrants In Portugal Don't Have To Wait 2 Years To Meet Family

The trend passes on a narrow road in the city of Lisbon, Portugal. (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The Portuguese Constitutional Court ordered parliament and the country's government to stop discussing the Immigration Restrictions Bill.

Quoting Reuters on Sunday, August 10, the Supreme Court confirmed that the bill, if passed into law, could prevent families from meeting legal immigrants who live in Portugal.

According to the Supreme Court's decision, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa returned the discussed bill to parliament, although it was in recess until September.

Last month, President Marcelo ordered the court to examine documents on the Immigration Restrictions Bill to find out potential violations of the principles of equality, proportionality, and legal guarantees.

The bill, which was approved by the majority of Portugal's far-right parliament, is considered to describe a right-handed political shift in much of Europe.

This bill, if passed into law, will make hundreds of thousands of migrants legally domiciled in Portugal have to wait for two years if their family members want to visit them.

The two-year deadline is a rule before finally legal immigrants in Protugal can ask Immigration for permission if they want to be visited by their families.

The rules are exempted from high-performance migrant workers and investors with special residence permits.

According to the Portuguese Supreme Court, the Immigration Restriction Bill has the potential to have implications for rights violations listed in the constitution.