Lisbon: Portugal's constitutional court on Friday rejected some elements of an immigration law pushed through by the government, forcing it to be re-written and presented for a new vote.

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa had asked for the ruling from the country's highest court, which objected in particular to articles governing family reunification, the court's president Jose Joao Abrantes told journalists.

The left has criticised centre-right Prime Minister Luis Montenegro for pushing through a landmark overhaul of immigration rules without consultations, as well as for relying on the support of the far-right Chega party for its passage.

"We will not abandon our goal, even if we have to reformulate the law," Montenegro said Thursday evening, before the court delivered its ruling.

"If a provision is not fully consistent with constitutional principles, the majority will respect that decision and find a legal solution," he said.

The bill also restricts visas for job seekers to highly qualified workers and removes preferential treatment for nationals of former colonies, such as Brazil.

Last year, the government had already repealed rules allowing undocumented immigrants to regularise their status if they could show they had been working for at least a year and contributing to the state social security system.

At the end of 2024, the number of foreigners living in Portugal exceeded 1.5 million, about 15 percent of the total population and nearly four times more than in 2017.

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