Prime Minister José Sócrates, in a ceremony where he personally welcomed 324 new Portuguese nationals, said: "We want them to be Portuguese and that they assume the best Portugal can give to the world".

Mr Sócrates stressed that new immigration laws, especially the law of nationality, is a clear break away "from a tradition of reservations and mistrust" in relation to foreigners.

The prime minister added that the country "is assuming a progressive and inclusive vision" which is transforming Portugal "into a country that is fairer to those who have been here for more than five years".

At a ceremony in Lisbon on Monday, Mr Sócrates handed a certificate of nationality, a flag and a copy of the Portuguese constitution to 324 new citizens, with 284 of these being 13 years old or younger.

The youngest being Eustácio Urdea, who was born in Portugal three years ago of Moldovan parents who have been living here since 1999.

Between December 15 and April 30, a total of 796 national ity acquisition procedures were dealt with by central administrative services.

Currently, it takes around 30 to 36 months to receive approval to obtain Portuguese nationality, but Mr Sócrates remains adamant that the Home Office is prepared and equipped to deal with an increasing number of nationality requests.

Only last week, Portuguese lawmakers voted to approve a new immigration law aimed to streamline applications for residency permits and work visas and legalise some visa-less foreigners living in the country.

Under Portugal's new immigration legislation, family members of foreigners already living and working in the country, including children over 18 years, will be allowed to join their kin.

Foreign nationals resident in Portugal for 15 years, those who have lived there since the age of 10 and children who were born there and attending state schools will also be legalised under the new laws.

Additionally, foreigners who applied for residency status under an "immigration amnesty" from 2003 to 2004 and still in irregular conditions will be fully legalised.

But the new immigration legislation has come under fire from immigrants' rights groups in Portugal, who say the measures "defraud the expectations" of thousands of immigrants while only benefiting a small minority.

In comments to Lusa, Timoteo Macedo, spokesman for a platform of Portugal's immigrant minorities, said the legislation only applied to a small minority of all the foreign nationals living and working in Portugal.

Immigrants continue without right of appeal against deportation orders that are solely made by Portugal's SEF border and immigration police and Lisbon's Internal Administration ministry, noted Mr Macedo.

Paulo Portas, leader of the CDS-PP, said his party opposed the new legislation by stating that it will facilitate human trafficking networks.

He argued that Article 59 of the new law, which stipulates that "immigrants become legal as soon as they have a declaration from a prospective employer", which he says is a gaping loophole that will be taken advantage of by networks exploring immigrants in Portugal.

THE PORTUGUESE NEWS