Key figures — as of 2026-08-24: President António José Seguro sent Decree 105/XVII to the Constitutional Court on 7 August 2026, asking for preventive review of 11 norms — the changes are on hold until judges rule; administrative detention tied to a coercive-removal order would rise from a current cap of 60 days to up to 360 days, plus a further 180-day extension to enforce the return, a potential total of 540 days; the decree could allow removal of foreign-born children under five who were born in Portugal, and — indirectly — separation from Portuguese-born minors.
A second migration law hits the same wall
Portugal's new law on returns and asylum — quietly nicknamed the "Lei do Retorno e Asilo" by officials — never got the chance to take effect. President António José Seguro sent the decree approved by parliament to the Constitutional Court and requested preventive review of 11 of its norms, a step that for now blocks the changes from entering into force. That happened on 7 August 2026, and it's a different piece of legislation from the broader Lei dos Estrangeiros that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa eventually signed into law back in October 2025 after his own constitutional challenge forced a rewrite.
This time the trigger is narrower but sharper: what happens to families, and specifically children, when the state moves to remove someone from the country.
What the decree actually changes
The bill originated in a Council of Ministers decision from March 2026. On 19 March, the government approved a new draft law that reinforces and speeds up the regime for the coercive removal of irregular migrants, presented by Minister of the Presidency António Leitão Amaro. The justification was blunt — the minister argued Portugal had one of the lowest expulsion rates in Europe, under 5% of irregular migrants — and the fix was to lengthen how long someone can be held while a removal order is processed. Detention periods would jump from 60 days to up to 360 days for a coercive-removal decision, with a further 180 days allowed to complete the return.
The decree also flips how appeals work. Currently, challenging an unfavourable asylum or protection decision suspends removal until a court rules. Under the new text, that suspensive effect becomes merely "devolutivo," meaning removal could go ahead before a final judicial decision — undermining the right to asylum, international protection and effective access to justice, in the President's reading.
Why the President stopped it
The family-separation clause is what stands out for foreign residents. Seguro says he attaches enormous importance to protecting families and children, and flags that some solutions in the decree raise real doubts about whether the child's best interests are safeguarded — the text allows separation between parents and children or the indirect expulsion of Portuguese minors, and in certain situations, the coercive removal and expulsion of foreign children under five who were born in Portugal. Opposition voices went further; Bloco de Esquerda's Fabian Figueiredo called it "Expulsar crianças nascidas em Portugal" in a widely shared post.
GrowIN Portugal Editorial analysis: stretch the maximum detention window from 60 to 540 days and you've turned a two-month administrative measure into an 18-month one — a ninefold increase in how long someone who has committed no crime can be held while the state arranges their exit. For a mixed-status household with a Portuguese-born child, that's not an abstract legal debate; it's the difference between a short administrative delay and a school year spent without a parent.
What happens next
The Constitutional Court now has to weigh in. Preventive review carries a constitutional deadline of 25 days, and until the court rules, the changes in Decree 105/XVII do not take effect. The court itself looks different from the one that reviewed the 2025 law: four new judges took office on 15 June 2026, adding a layer of uncertainty to how the reformed bench will read this reform. There's recent precedent either way — last August the same court struck down five provisions of the earlier foreigners' law, sending the government back to redraft before Marcelo would sign it.
"A law that can hold someone for 540 days and separate them from a Portuguese-born child was always going to end up in front of the Constitutional Court," says GrowIN Portugal Editorial.
What this means if you're in Portugal on a visa or residence permit
Nothing changes today for anyone currently holding a residence permit, applying through AIMA, or going through family reunification — the decree is frozen, not law. But it's worth watching if you're a non-EU national with a Portuguese-born child, or you're navigating an asylum or protection claim, since the appeal-effect change would matter most in exactly those cases. Families in mixed-status households should keep documentation of paternity/maternity and residence history current, and anyone facing an active removal or asylum process should get advice from a Portuguese immigration lawyer rather than wait for the court's ruling. Our visas hub tracks how AIMA processes and legal deadlines evolve as this and the wider migration reform play out.
The Constitutional Court's decision, expected within the 25-day window, will determine whether this becomes the second migration law in two years to be sent back to the drawing board — or the first to survive review intact.