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Last updated: 10-Nov-2025
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Press and Public Enquiries [email protected]
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The Belarusian Initiative for Democracy and the Rule of Law is an independent civic and legal advocacy group established by Belarusians residing in Portugal. The initiative works to protect individuals who cannot safely return to Belarus or to any other country of origin where return would expose them to political persecution, systemic repression, or risks arising from armed conflict and regional instability.
Its work focuses on:
The initiative’s mission is to uphold democratic principles, lawful administrative practice, and the protection of individuals whose return to their country of origin would endanger their safety, liberty, or life.
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This page provides an independent legal analysis prepared by the Belarusian Initiative for Democracy and the Rule of Law. Its purpose is to clarify the legal framework governing temporary protection under EU and Portuguese law, to identify inconsistencies arising from the withdrawal of temporary protection from third-country nationals who were legally residing in Ukraine before 24 February 2022, and to assist affected individuals, legal professionals, journalists, researchers, and public institutions in understanding the relevant legislation, administrative practices, and human rights implications. This document serves as a factual reference tool intended to promote transparency, legal accuracy, and informed public discussion, without advancing any political agenda.
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The replacement, in Portuguese legislation, of the wording “residing legally in Ukraine”—used in Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 of 4 March 2022 and transposed into Council of Ministers Resolution No. 29-D/2022 of 11 March 2022 (RCM 29-D/2022)—with the expression “residente permanente” (“permanent resident”) introduced in Council of Ministers Resolution No. 135/2022 of 28 December 2022 (RCM 135/2022), represents a material narrowing of the scope of protection originally defined by EU law and by Portuguese Law No. 67/2003.
The withdrawal of temporary protection, based on this later resolution, was carried out by AIMA (Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum) through mass notifications that relied exclusively on the absence of permanent residence in Ukraine, without any individual assessment of the person’s circumstances or evidence of lawful residence.
“By granting this status, Portugal has granted and continues to grant displaced persons and their family members the right to legally reside in its territory, and if this condition is not met—that is, in the absence of permanent residence or when the initial assumptions for granting the status cease to exist—the principle of good faith and transparency that underpinned the political action is violated.”
Moreover, applying RCM 135/2022 retroactively to persons who obtained protection under RCM 29-D/2022 violates both the Portuguese Constitution (Article 18[3]), which prohibits retroactive restrictive measures, and the principle of non-retroactivity and legitimate expectations under EU law.
Consequently, AIMA’s decisions to revoke temporary protection — issued without individual reasoning, due process, or legal basis in EU or Portuguese law — are nulos ou anuláveis under the Administrative Procedure Code (CPA, Articles 135 and 165).
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An excerpt from the official letter dated Oct 16th, 2025
An excerpt from the official letter dated Oct 23rd, 2025