Key figures — as of 2026-09-18: Signed by President António José Seguro on 31 August 2026, three days after a unanimous Constitutional Court ruling on 28 August cleared 11 contested provisions — maximum detention in temporary holding centres rises from 60 days to an initial 180 days, renewable for another 180 (up to a year) — the law implements the EU's Migration and Asylum Pact, introduced 12 June 2026 — parents of Portuguese-born minors keep protection from removal, but two regularisation routes (student status, having a minor child) are scrapped — not yet in force pending publication in the Diário da República.
The headline number: detention triples, then triples again
Sixty days. That's how long Portugal could currently hold an irregular migrant in a temporary installation centre before releasing them if a removal decision hadn't been finalised. Under the law President Seguro signed on 31 August, that ceiling jumps to 180 days, which can be extended for another 180 days — a sixfold increase that GrowIN Portugal's editorial team calculates turns a two-month limit into a possible full year in detention, with earlier drafts floating extensions worth up to eighteen months in total for the most complex cases.
The change didn't sail through unopposed. President Seguro promulgated the legislation three days after the Constitutional Court's unanimous ruling on Friday found no grounds to declare the 11 provisions it examined unconstitutional. Seguro had sent those provisions for review himself — saying he had serious doubts over whether some of the measures adequately protected children and whether restrictions on the liberty of foreign nationals were proportionate. Earlier, in his referral letter, he'd been blunter about where he'd draw the line: "The security of our borders is not incompatible with human dignity," he said.
What the law actually does
This isn't a standalone Portuguese initiative. The law forms part of Portugal's implementation of the EU's new Migration and Asylum Pact, introduced on 12 June 2026, and reshapes rules on entry, residence, removal, detention and asylum procedures across the board.
The Constitutional Court's review specifically addressed issues ranging from the removal of foreign parents of Portuguese children and the treatment of children born in Portugal to detention, border-return procedures and the protection of refugees. The court's interpretation also functions as a rulebook for how judges and immigration officers apply the toughened rules on the ground — guidance for judges and administrative authorities when applying the new rules, according to the Presidency.
Beyond detention, the package quietly closes two doors that irregular migrants have long used to gain legal status. According to reporting on the parliamentary text, the reform brings the end of tacit deferral and the withdrawal of the two remaining routes to regularisation on Portuguese territory: through professional/study status and through having a minor child. That second closure matters because, until now, having a Portuguese-born or Portugal-resident minor child was often the last practical avenue to legalise an otherwise irregular stay — even as outright expulsion of parents with such children remains restricted.
What stays the same — and what doesn't, once published
If you already hold a valid residence permit, the direct hit is limited. Legal commentary on the reform is consistent on this point: the direct impact of this law is small for those who are regular — their authorisation remains valid and their rights are maintained. Renewals, work rights and day-to-day dealings with AIMA continue as before; nothing here touches D7, D8, Golden Visa or Startup Visa holders directly. See our visas hub for how those regimes currently work.
The catch is timing. Signing the decree is not the same as switching it on. As one legal analysis put it, promulgation is a fundamental step but should not be confused with the law's entry into force — the legislation still needs to be officially published, and the rule determining when it takes effect must be checked. Practically: nobody currently in an irregular situation should assume a specific new rule already applies just because the president signed the decree. As one firm advising clients put it, foreign nationals in Portugal shouldn't assume a given rule already applies just because the law has been promulgated, and an individual legal review is more important than ever before ignoring any notification.
"A signature in Belém doesn't start the clock — the Diário da República does, and until then the old detention limits and regularisation routes technically still stand," is the line GrowIN Portugal Editorial would put on this for anyone tracking their own case.
What to watch next
Three things determine how this plays out for anyone with an irregular status question in Portugal: the official publication date in the Diário da República, the specific transitional rules attached to each article, and whether AIMA and the police issue implementing guidance consistent with the Constitutional Court's interpretive criteria on children and family unity. Given the political sensitivity, expect further clarification — and likely further legal challenges — once the text starts being applied to real cases rather than reviewed on paper. Anyone facing a removal process, a stalled regularisation application, or uncertainty about a child's status should get individual legal advice before the publication date, not after.
Portugal's immigration rules have shifted several times in the past eighteen months — from the nationality law overhaul in May to this return law now — and foreigners already in the system, regular or not, are better served checking their specific paperwork against AIMA's official guidance than assuming yesterday's rules still hold.