The President just froze the new immigration law.

For the second time in a year, a Portuguese president has sent the government's tougher immigration law to the Constitutional Court rather than sign it. It's Saturday, 8 August. Thirty-one degrees. Air quality: 30 (Good). Here's what you need to know.

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PRESIDENT SENDS THE GOVERNMENT'S NEW IMMIGRATION LAW TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

President António José Seguro has asked the Constitutional Court to review the government's new law on foreigners and asylum before it can come into force, freezing one of the government's flagship pieces of legislation and setting up a fight over how far the state can go in removing people from the country.

The mechanism he used is called preventive review. Rather than sign the law, the President asks the Constitutional Court to rule first on whether parts of it clash with the Constitution. If the judges find provisions unconstitutional, those parts have to be rewritten or dropped before the law can take effect. Until the Court rules, the law is on hold.

The legislation itself, passed by parliament with the votes of the governing centre-right coalition and the hard-right Chega, is designed to speed up the removal of people who enter or stay in the country illegally and to toughen the asylum and return system. It has been widely referred to as the "Return Law".

The President's sharpest concerns are about children and families. Seguro said several parts of the law raise serious doubts about whether the best interests of the child are protected. He pointed to the possibility of separating parents from children, to the indirect or knock-on expulsion of Portuguese children when a parent is removed, and, in certain situations, to the forced removal of foreign children under the age of five who were born in Portugal.

He also flagged the law's approach to detention. It substantially lengthens the time foreigners who have committed no crime can be held in administrative detention, up to 180 days, and allows the detention of children seeking protection, including those who arrive unaccompanied. The Constitution permits detention in principle, the President noted, but its length has to be proportionate and open to review by a judge.

His third concern is about timing. The law could allow someone to be expelled before a court has reached a final decision on their asylum or protection claim, which Seguro argued risks making the right to a proper hearing meaningless. Reforms in this area are welcome and necessary, he said, but abuses of the system should be tackled through an administration and courts that actually work, not through measures that collide with constitutional rights. He noted that many people seeking asylum arrive after fleeing war, persecution or humanitarian crises.

The government, led by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, argues Portugal needs a firmer and faster system to manage migration and returns, and had already softened parts of the bill after criticism and a run of unfavourable legal opinions. Chega wanted it tougher still, while left-wing and centre-left parties, along with rights groups, warned it went too far. The move echoes the same clash a year ago, when the previous head of state referred an earlier version of the law and the Court struck down five provisions on family reunification.

For most readers, who are here legally and settled, the direct effect is limited, since the law bites hardest on asylum seekers, people without papers, and families facing separation. What it signals is bigger. It marks where the constitutional limits of the government's immigration drive actually sit, and it puts the whole package on pause until the judges decide.

Bottom line: the government's push to harden immigration and asylum has hit the same wall it hit last year, and the Constitutional Court will now decide how much of it survives.

⚡ QUICK HITS

Portuguese man-o'-war are washing up on beaches, and the stings are mounting. Warm seas are pushing these venomous, jellyfish-like creatures onto beaches around the country, with 120 stings recorded in a single day, and sightings have now reached Lisbon's own coast, from Costa da Caparica round to Cascais and up towards Sintra. The balloon-like float looks almost pretty in blue and pink, but the sting is severe, and the tentacles keep firing even after the animal washes up and appears dead. Authorities are asking people not to touch any they find stranded, to check the sea authority's Gelavista map and lifeguard flags before swimming, and, if stung, to rinse with seawater rather than fresh water and seek medical help if the reaction is bad.

It turns out there is no such thing as French or German sangria. Under European Union rules, only drinks actually produced in Portugal or Spain can be sold under the plain name "sangria". Producers elsewhere are free to make a similar wine-and-fruit drink, but they must label it an "aromatised wine-based drink" and state where it was made, so you might see "sangria produced in Germany" but never the word on its own. The rules, in place across the bloc since 2014, even fix the recipe: at least half wine, citrus flavouring, between 4.5 and 12 percent alcohol, and no artificial colouring. It is the same protected-name logic that guards Champagne, and a small point of Iberian pride at the height of jug-of-sangria season.

Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly getting married in Madeira today. British and Portuguese media report that the footballer and Georgina Rodríguez, his partner of nearly a decade, will wed this Saturday at Funchal Cathedral on his home island, with a reception at the five-star Savoy Palace, where two floors have reportedly been closed for a private event. The couple got engaged last August. One caveat worth keeping: neither has confirmed a thing, and an earlier rumour of a wedding at Sintra's Quinta da Regaleira came to nothing when the estate stayed open to visitors, so treat the date as reported rather than nailed on. Either way, plenty of the country will be watching to find out.

Getting Married in Portugal: A Legal Guide for Expats

Saying ‘I do’ in Portugal is easier than many expats assume, but the legal process involves much more than organising the ceremony. Here’s a Fresh Legal clear expert guide of what every international couple should know before saying "I do". 

For many international couples, one of the first questions when planning a wedding in Portugal is whether the marriage will actually be legally valid, both here in Portugal and in their home country afterward.

In most cases, yes. However, the marriage must comply with Portuguese legal requirements and, depending on the couple's nationality, additional formalities may be required for recognition abroad. 

Foreigners can legally marry in Portugal even without being residents, but the marriage must go through the Portuguese Civil Registry. The rules for foreign citizens largely mirror those for Portuguese nationals, with one key addition: foreign nationals generally need to demonstrate that they are legally free to marry under the laws of their home country.

For those planning to marry, the paperwork is often the hardest part. Expats are typically asked for a valid passport, birth certificate, and a certificate proving they have no legal impediment to marry, along with a divorce or death certificate if previously married. Foreign documents usually need an apostille, and in many cases a certified Portuguese translation, before the registry will accept them.

The core documents required generally fall into three main categories:

These steps sound simple but are the most common source of delay. A document that is perfectly valid at home can be rejected in Portugal if it is too old, missing an apostille, or accompanied by a translation that does not meet Portuguese legal requirements.

One of the most common misunderstandings is that marrying a Portuguese citizen automatically grants citizenship or residence. In reality, marriage to a Portuguese citizen does not automatically grant Portuguese citizenship or residence rights. While spouses may become eligible to apply for citizenship after three years of marriage under certain conditions, each case is assessed individually and residence options depend on the couple's circumstances and pproval still depends on meeting the applicable legal requirements, and the correct residence route can differ depending on whether the spouse is Portuguese, an EU citizen, or a non-EU resident, so two couples face different procedures.

Getting married in Portugal is not simply a matter of planning the ceremony. A proper document review, choosing the appropriate matrimonial property regime and understanding the potential tax implications is essential before the big day. For couples living in Portugal, planning ahead can make a significant difference. Therefore, if you're planning to marry in Portugal, obtaining legal advice early can make the entire process smoother and help ensure everything is in place before the big day. 

→ Learn more about getting married in Portugal

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🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

FERMENTAGE (MARVILA)

Marvila, out in the city's eastern riverside stretch, has become Lisbon's beer district, and Fermentage is one of the reasons to make the trip. It sits on Rua Capitão Leitão, in the space that used to house the Lince brewery, and it is run by brewers who learned their trade at some of Portugal's best-known craft names before setting up on their own. The beer is made on site, with a bias towards playing around and seeing what comes out.

What lands in the glass changes often, from easy-drinking lagers to sharp sours and dark, heavy stouts, so it rewards the curious and the indecisive alike. There is food to go with it and a sunny patio out front, and the room is set up to keep you there a while rather than move you along, with board games and regular quiz and music nights.

Worth knowing before you go: it is an afternoon-and-evening place, opening at three and running late into the night on Fridays and Saturdays. Marvila is a fair way east of the centre, so it is worth pairing with a wander.

→ See what's on tap and find them here ←

Insider tip: a few of the city's other taprooms, Dois Corvos and Musa among them, are within a short walk, so the smart move is to treat an afternoon here as the start of a small Marvila beer crawl rather than the whole of it.

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