Amendments to the Citizenship Law have been approved, but parties are awaiting a revision of the specialty

This Friday, Parliament approved the government’s proposed law that would abolish the regime for the descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews to apply for citizenship, with reservations from all parties that must propose changes in the specialty.

The diploma provides, as of January 1, 2024, for the abolition of the rule that allowed the government to grant citizenship by naturalization to “descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews by demonstrating a tradition of belonging to the Sephardic community of Portuguese origin, based on proven objective requirements for connection with Portugal, namely surnames, family language, direct or collateral origin.”

With the support of the Socialist Party and the Bloc de Esquerda, as well as the abstention of Chega, the Liberal and Free Initiative, the initiative was generally approved and now goes to the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, where it must undergo changes.

Even before the vote, during the debate, the Minister of Justice explained that the regime in question has existed for 10 years and, despite the “fair recognition”, has already fulfilled its function.

“The duty of historical reparation cannot, should not, and does not seek to erase the events that gave rise to it. Always symbolic, it is intended to mark the recognition that was carried out through a generous window of time,” said Catarina Sarmento e Castro. clarifying that the government’s proposal does not prevent the granting of Portuguese citizenship to the descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews, but applies to them the general rules of the Nationality Law.

According to the minister, by the end of last year, about 262 thousand people applied for naturalization under this rule, of which about 75 thousand people received citizenship. However, stricter rules came into force last September, with more than 74,000 requests recorded in just one year.

Everyone on the parliamentary benches expressed doubts about the proposal, including the parties that ultimately supported the bill.

Regarding the PS, Pedro Delgado Alves acknowledged the need for a revision of the rule to “guarantee the reliability of the law” and said that the Socialists would propose that, after proof of descent from Portuguese Sephardic Jews, three years of residence in Portugal should be sufficient, rather than the five years provided for others situations.

“In particular, let us make every effort to find a balanced solution that resolves the problems and allows Portugal to remain at the forefront of good reception practices and historical restoration,” the MP said.

Pedro Filipe Soares of the Bloc de Esquerda said that the application of the norm in question, despite being “tainted by a number of evasive explanations and distortions of its objectives,” has achieved a just goal and is already “inadequate to reality.” Despite this, he defended a “proper transition period”, justifying the party’s vote in favor with the “expectation that specialized work can take care of some of the details”.

Also, Patricia Gilvaz of the Liberal Initiative stated that “the liquidation of this regime on January 1, 2024 will end the expectations of thousands of descendants of Sephardic Jews,” and proposed delaying the abolition until 2025.

Regarding Livre, Rui Tavares remembered Portuguese Sephardic Jews who were victims of World War II and defended a regime that prioritizes connections to Portugal and the Portuguese language “so that we can make this historical reparation without abuse.”

SDP and PKP were more critical, but for different reasons. While communist Alma Rivera argued that the current regime has become a business and “a resource for the illegitimate acquisition of Portuguese nationality” and its existence has “no meaning”, Paula Cardoso of the PSD said that “putting an end to these abuses does not go away with the abolition regime.”

Also, as part of the discussed initiative, Chega, in the voice of the deputy Pedro Pinto, criticized the Citizenship Law, considering that currently “it is not necessary to know how to speak the Camões language, to know the history of Portugal, the anthem or the colors of the flag” and that “illegal immigrants do not have to be Portuguese, but should return to their countries,” statements that at the end of the debate led to accusations of xenophobia from the socialist Alexandra Leitan.

Chegi’s project failed due to dissenting votes from the remaining benches, while the PCP initiative received the support of only the Bloc de Esquerda and three PS deputies, with the abstention of the PS and the Liberal Initiative being insufficient in the face of Chegi’s dissenting votes. , PSD, Livre and Socialist MP Maria João Castro.