Lots of people are understandably upset with the rug pulling, regarding the citizenship eligibility criteria, and thinking of leaving Portugal... but before you do so and put your right to citizenship at risk, make sure you understand your options.

After 5y living in Portugal, you can apply ONLINE (no need to email or call AIMA for an appointment) for the Estatuto de Residente de Longa Duracao (European Long Term Resident Status), directly from the AIMA website.

https://preview.redd.it/6g5k8ziyn22h1.png?width=1490&format=png&auto=webp&s=e7d988451a601409908351cb30b3aa680330f1be

By law, AIMA must process your request within a max period of 6 months, and in complex cases, up to 9 months. After 9 months, regardless what AIMA does or does not, if they have not processed your request the status is granted automatically.

The benefits? The status gives you the freedom to live, work and study in any member state of the EU, and has minimum requirements of physical presence : you cannot be absent from the EU for more than 12 consecutive months.

With that, you get to obtain a legal status valid for at least 5y, can continue to live in Portugal OR travel within the EU and spend as much time outside Portugal as you wish (as long as you do not exceed the 12 consecutive months limit) and down the road you can apply for your citizenship.

In a nutshell : instead of giving up your right (which was taken away from you now) to citizenship, you do not have to be locked in Portugal.

Edit to add : Long-term residents - Migration and Home Affairs - European Commission

Rights of long-term residents and equal treatment

The proposal also aims to strengthen the rights of long-term residents and their family members. This includes the right to move and work in other Member States, which should be as similar as possible to the right that EU citizens enjoy. Allowing nationals of non-EU countries who are already EU long-term residents in one Member State to change jobs and move to another Member State for work can help improve labour market effectiveness across the EU, addressing skills shortages and offsetting regional imbalances. It can also improve the EU’s overall attractiveness to foreign talent.

The proposal additionally puts in place a mechanism to ensure a level playing field between the EU long-term residence permit and national permanent residence permits in terms of procedures, equal treatment rights, and access to information, so that nationals from non-EU countries have a real choice between the two permits. It also facilitates circular migration by making it easier for long-term residents to return to their country of origin without losing their rights, benefiting both the countries of origin and the countries of residence.

Lots of people are understandably upset with the rug pulling, regarding the citizenship eligibility criteria, and thinking of leaving Portugal... but before you do so and put your right to citizenship at risk, make sure you understand your options.

After 5y living in Portugal, you can apply ONLINE (no need to email or call AIMA for an appointment) for the Estatuto de Residente de Longa Duracao (European Long Term Resident Status), directly from the AIMA website.

https://preview.redd.it/z29r5uvy522h1.png?width=1490&format=png&auto=webp&s=498f44f0192f115c212b0f50b0593b6c5cc2add7

By law, AIMA must process your request within a max period of 6 months, and in complex cases, up to 9 months. After 9 months, regardless what AIMA does or does not, if they have not processed your request the status is granted automatically.

The benefits? The status gives you the freedom to live, work and study in any member state of the EU, and has minimum requirements of physical presence : you cannot be absent from the EU for more than 12 consecutive months.

With that, you get to obtain a legal status valid for at least 5y, can continue to live in Portugal OR travel within the EU and spend as much time outside Portugal as you wish (as long as you do not exceed the 12 consecutive months limit) and down the road you can apply for your citizenship.

In a nutshell : instead of giving up your right (which was taken away from you now) to citizenship, you do not have to be locked in Portugal.

Edit to add : Long-term residents - Migration and Home Affairs - European Commission

Rights of long-term residents and equal treatment

The proposal also aims to strengthen the rights of long-term residents and their family members. This includes the right to move and work in other Member States, which should be as similar as possible to the right that EU citizens enjoy. Allowing nationals of non-EU countries who are already EU long-term residents in one Member State to change jobs and move to another Member State for work can help improve labour market effectiveness across the EU, addressing skills shortages and offsetting regional imbalances. It can also improve the EU’s overall attractiveness to foreign talent.

The proposal additionally puts in place a mechanism to ensure a level playing field between the EU long-term residence permit and national permanent residence permits in terms of procedures, equal treatment rights, and access to information, so that nationals from non-EU countries have a real choice between the two permits. It also facilitates circular migration by making it easier for long-term residents to return to their country of origin without losing their rights, benefiting both the countries of origin and the countries of residence.

https://preview.redd.it/34xvvf6jn22h1.png?width=965&format=png&auto=webp&s=0c3c34d1c4525be71057ebb7b33171acaca600d3

So....I cruise on a regular basis, mostly within the Mediterranean, and almost always we choose MSC or Costa. Last November we booked a NCL cruise in the same Mediterranean ports we are used to, and they announced on the 2nd day or so that while on "Spanish territorial waters" anyone getting a drink with the Free at Sea package would have to pay an additional tax on the retail value of the drink. There was a lot of confusion among staff in different locations, as we could be dinning at the main DR and ask for a drink, and they'd have to check with someone else to see if we were still within Spain's territory (and hence charge us the tax or not) when we ordered wine. At one point, one of the bartenders even suggested to us (and others sitting at that bar) that we should stock up on canned drinks like beers when away from the Spanish territory, keep them in the cabin mini bar, and drink when subject to that tax. LOL.

They explained to us that this was a new LAW, IMPOSED by Spain and not something that NCL had any control of. However, we cruised again with MSC 2 months later, spend 8 days around the Canary Islands (so, all the tiem within Spain territory) and MSC did not charge us a penny.. they could not even understand what we were talking about when I asked if there would be tax while close to Spain.

Can anyone shed some light to this?

So....I cruise on a regular basis, mostly within the Mediterranean, and almost always we choose MSC or Costa. Last November we booked a NCL cruise in the same Mediterranean ports we are used to, and they announced on the 2nd day or so that while on "Spanish territorial waters" anyone getting a drink with the Free at Sea package would have to pay an additional tax on the retail value of the drink. There was a lot of confusion among staff in different locations, as we could be dinning at the main DR and ask for a drink, and they'd have to check with someone else to see if we were still within Spain's territory (and hence charge us the tax or not) when we ordered wine. At one point, one of the bartenders even suggested to us (and others sitting at that bar) that we should stock up on canned drinks like beers when away from the Spanish territory, keep them in the cabin mini bar, and drink when subject to that tax. LOL.

They explained to us that this was a new LAW, IMPOSED by Spain and not something that NCL had any control of. However, we cruised again with MSC 2 months later, spend 8 days around the Canary Islands (so, all the tiem within Spain territory) and MSC did not charge us a penny.. they could not even understand what we were talking about when I asked if there would be tax while close to Spain.

Can anyone shed some light to this?