Key figures — as of 2026-09-15: Lei n.º 62/2026 entered into force on 11 September 2026, a day after publication in the Diário da República — promulgated by President António José Seguro on 31 August 2026 following a unanimous Constitutional Court clearance on 28 August; it closes the last two remaining paths to switch a study permit or parental-link claim into residency without a prior consular visa; it follows the original abolition of manifestação de interesse under Decree-Law 37-A/2024 on 3 June 2024 — meaning it has taken roughly 830 days to fully seal the loophole GrowIN calculates from decree to final closure.
The Loophole Finally Runs Out
Foreigners already living in Portugal without the right paperwork have one fewer excuse to stay put and hope. As of 11 September, Lei n.º 62/2026 is in effect, tightening the rules on entry, residence and removal that Portugal uses to implement the EU's new Migration and Asylum Pact. Portugal entered a new phase of tightening immigration rules with the entry into force of Law No. 62/2026, published on 10 September in the Diário da República, altering the legal regime for entry, residence, exit and removal of foreigners and introducing changes affecting regularisation possibilities for foreigners in Portugal without the proper visa.
The law itself set its own start date: the decree determines, in article 11, that it enters into force the day after publication, so the new rules began producing effects precisely on Friday, 11 September.
A Two-Year Process to Shut One Door
This isn't a single dramatic reversal — it's the final stage of something the government started in mid-2024. The government extinguished the manifestação de interesse regime under articles 88 and 89 of the 2007 Foreigners' Law, which many organisations argued controlled illegal immigration networks and let people already working in the country regularise, but which the government believed had become an "open door" and source of much of the backlog. That original change took effect via Decree-Law 37-A/2024 on 3 June 2024.
What survived that first cut were narrower side-doors: enrolling in a course of study, or claiming a residence link through a foreign minor child, could still, in practice, be converted into a residence authorisation after arrival. Brazilian citizens were especially affected, since many who had used available routes tried to regularise their situation after entering Portugal, with course enrolment cited as one of the last alternatives for obtaining a residence authorisation without having first sorted out a visa in Brazil. Lei 62/2026 closes that gap too: with the entry into force of Law No. 62/2026, that margin becomes more limited. The promulgated decree now requires a prior visa for residence authorisations linked to studies and restricts residence for parents of foreign minors, though the exception for parents of Portuguese children remains.
The president's own reservations shaped the final text. He had sent the bill for review before signing: the President had referred those provisions to the court earlier that month, citing serious doubts over whether some measures adequately protected children and whether restrictions on the liberty of foreign nationals were proportionate. The court found nothing unconstitutional, and following the ruling that cleared all 11 provisions — covering the removal of foreign parents of Portuguese children, the treatment of children born in Portugal, detention, border-return procedures and refugee protection — Seguro proceeded with promulgation on Monday.
What This Actually Means If You're Already Here
Practically, someone who flew in on a tourist visa hoping to line up work, enrol in a course, or lean on a family tie to convert their status locally no longer has that option. The rule is now consistent across the board: get the correct visa — D7, D8, work visa, job-seeker visa, study visa — from a Portuguese consulate before travelling. Anyone who submitted a manifestação de interesse before June 2024 continues under transitional safeguards while AIMA works through the backlog, but that pipeline is closing, not reopening, and no equivalent exists for new arrivals.
GrowIN's calculation: measuring from the original 3 June 2024 decree-law to the 11 September 2026 entry into force of Law 62/2026, it took the Portuguese state roughly 830 days to move from "abolishing manifestação de interesse in principle" to actually closing every practical side-door that let people achieve the same result by other means. For anyone weighing a move to Portugal, that gap is over — plan the visa first, or don't plan the move at all.
As GrowIN Portugal Editorial puts it: the fallback route into Portuguese residency has been sealed, and the consulate is now the only door.
What to Watch Next
Expect AIMA to publish operational guidance clarifying how pending study- and family-linked cases filed before 11 September will be treated, and watch for secondary legislation on the "return law" elements — faster removal procedures and detention rules — that accompanied this reform. Anyone currently in Portugal without valid status should get proper legal advice promptly rather than assume a transitional grace period; outcomes depend entirely on AIMA and the courts, not on hope. For a full breakdown of which visa fits your situation before you book a flight, see our guide at visas, and for help sequencing a compliant move, GrowIN's team can walk through your options via services.
Portugal hasn't shut its doors to immigration — it has simply insisted, for the first time without exception, that everyone use the front one.