In the letter, the FPF alerts Pedro Dias "to the impact that the decision on the end of the expression of interest in the regularisation of foreigners in Portugal could have on the registration of professional players for the next season".

The FPF reminds the government official that the registration windows "are only twelve weeks long in the summer and four in the winter" and questions the possibility "of using an already foreseen exception regime", as mentioned in paragraph c) of paragraph 1 of the article 123 of Law no. 23/2007, of 4 July.

According to the same source, the FPF is trying to collect all the information regarding the changes that the new decree-law of June 3rd will introduce in the registration of foreigners, "in order to be able to inform as soon as possible the clubs that intend to bring foreign practitioners".

The new rules for immigration in Portugal came into force on June 3rd, in a decree-law that amended Law No. 23/2007, of July 4th, revoking residence permit procedures based on expressions of interest.

A 2017 amendment to the law on foreigners allowed, through an expression of interest, the regularization of stay in national territory, through the exercise of a subordinate or independent professional activity, without a valid visa for that purpose, under parts of articles 88 and 89.

In the decree-law now published, the government considers that the “possibility of regularizing immigrants who were not in possession of a consular residence visa” was an “irreflective” measure, which compromised “the principles assumed by Portugal and European partners in the Schengen Area”.

After entry, it would be possible to enter the “general regime for obtaining residence permits, with the registration of expression of interest and the mere promise of an employment contract being sufficient for this purpose”.

The diploma, therefore, orders the “revocation of residence authorization instruments based on the mere expression of interest, safeguarding, however, the situation of foreign citizens who have already initiated residence authorization procedures under those instruments”.