Portugal is moving to detain undocumented migrants for up to a year. Here's what changed.

Good morning, Lisbon. It's Friday, 24 April. Twenty-two degrees and clear skies heading into the long weekend.

🌬️ AIR QUALITY: 22 (Good).

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PORTUGAL IS MOVING TO DETAIN UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS FOR UP TO A YEAR. HERE IS WHAT THE LAW ACTUALLY SAYS.

In March, the Portuguese government approved a draft law that would extend the maximum period a foreigner can be held in a temporary detention centre while awaiting removal from 60 days to 360 days. The proposal has gone to the Assembly of the Republic, where it will need parliamentary approval to pass. The government does not hold a majority, but has previously relied on support from the far-right Chega party to pass similar measures.

The bill goes further than the headline number. It would also remove the formal step of voluntary departure before removal proceedings, shorten procedural timelines so deportations move faster, and lengthen the re-entry ban imposed on those expelled to five years across the Schengen Area, up from three years in some Portuguese cases. The government also wants to restrict the ability to use legal appeals to delay removal, a practice officials have described as systematic exploitation of procedural delay.

Government spokesman António Leitão Amaro defended the measures after the cabinet meeting: "There must be consequences for illegality, and that implies removal, and faster removal." He added that Portugal had been among European countries with the lowest removal rates.

The original proposal, before public consultation, put the maximum detention figure at 540 days. It was reduced to 360 days in the final text submitted to parliament.

Legal experts are not convinced the bill will survive scrutiny. A public law specialist consulted by the Assembly of the Republic has argued that extending detention to this degree for people who have not committed crimes is likely disproportionate under existing Constitutional Court rulings. The court has been active on immigration this year already: President Seguro referred the revised nationality law for constitutional review on 17 April, suspending it pending a ruling.

For the English-speaking community in Lisbon, the direct relevance is limited. The law targets undocumented migrants facing removal, not legal residents, and has not yet passed parliament. But it is part of a broader picture that has been building all week. Lula came to Lisbon Tuesday to raise immigration treatment as a formal agenda item with both the prime minister and the president. The Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum saw complaints rise 36% in the first quarter of this year. The case of Beatriz, the nine-year-old Portuguese-raised child issued an expulsion order in April, illustrated what can go wrong when the system moves fast without adequate oversight. A detention law that removes procedural steps and extends timelines moves in the opposite direction from the one Brasília was asking for.

The bill has not passed. The political arithmetic is not straightforward, and the debate is not over the principle but the number. Left Bloc and Livre argued this week that 360 days already violates the European Convention on Human Rights. Chega, whose support the government needs to pass the bill, has signalled it may push to restore the original 540-day figure during the parliamentary committee stage. The final number, whatever it lands on, will have to survive a constitutional system that has already sent immigration legislation back once this year. The direction of travel is clear. The destination is still being negotiated.

Bottom line: A detention bill that started at 540 days, was reduced to 360 under public pressure, and may yet be pushed back up by the party the government needs to pass it. Legal challenges are already being prepared. The Constitutional Court has a full inbox. Whatever number parliament eventually agrees on, expect this to run for months.

⚡ QUICK HITS

Both TAP bids advance. Parpública, Portugal's state holding company, recommended yesterday that both Air France-KLM and Lufthansa proceed to the next stage of the TAP privatisation process. Binding bids are now expected within 90 days, with the winning bidder selected by summer. IAG, which owns British Airways and Iberia, withdrew from the process earlier this month. If Air France-KLM wins, Lisbon becomes its southern European hub and TAP moves into the SkyTeam alliance. If Lufthansa wins, TAP stays in Star Alliance.

Lula-Portugal joint communiqué expected today. The joint statement from Tuesday's meetings between President Lula, Prime Minister Montenegro and President Seguro was due within 72 hours of the meetings concluding. Watch for the immigration language — or the absence of it.

Liberty Day tomorrow. April 25 is a national public holiday. Banks, government offices and public services are closed. The military parade runs in the morning at Terreiro do Paço. The popular parade along Avenida da Liberdade starts at 3pm. Red carnations will be handed out along the route. If you have never been in Lisbon for April 25, go outside.

🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

ERVA (AVENIDAS NOVAS)

Avenidas Novas is residential, broad-avenued and largely skipped by the restaurant trail that runs through Chiado, Príncipe Real and Cais do Sodré. Erva, on Avenida Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro, is the kind of place that makes you wonder why you keep going to the same three neighbourhoods.

Contemporary Portuguese cooking, seasonal ingredients, open kitchen with a wood-fired oven, concrete floors, vertical gardens lining the walls, local art on rotation. A resident DJ from 5pm most evenings, live music at weekends. The room was designed without apology: everything considered, nothing fussy.

Around €40 a head. Reservations recommended at weekends. Open every day from noon to 12:30am, which makes it the right answer for the question of what to do on a Liberty Day eve.

→ See what the fuss is about ←

Insider tip: Book ahead for Friday and Saturday evenings, it fills quickly going into a long weekend. The wood-fired dishes are worth waiting for if there's a queue at the kitchen.

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See you tomorrow morning.