Earlier this year, Caiado Guereiro’s Partner Sara Sousa Rebolo and Abreu Advogados’ associate Vanessa Rodrigues Lima founded the Portuguese Association of Immigration, Investment and Relocation (PAIIR). Both partners are lawyers who work in the area of Immigration and Foreign Investment and founded the company with the objective of enhancing and promoting immigration, investment, integration and mobility in Portugal.
An Interview With Sara Rebolo Partner, Caiado Guereiro and Vanessa Rodrigues Lima, Associate, Abreu Advogados
Please tell me about your involvement in the deal.
As immigration lawyers, we decided to take a step further in the development of the investment migration industry in Portugal. We believe that joint efforts bring more added value to the project, as well as more legitimacy. It is important to give a voice to this area, as well as to promote it as there are stigmas in this field, but also many weak points that only joint work between the legislator and the practitioners of law can improve. As professionals, we want to be proud of our work, but also of our country and legal system.
Why is this a good deal for all involved?
Naturally this project allows, at the individual level, to disseminate professional experience, as well as the companies where the associates are inserted, but, more than that, it allows, in collective terms, a gain of know-how and exchange of experiences between the different players of this industry at a national and international level. And that is why the development of the network is so important and enriching for all who participate in it, and who can still benefit from excellent protocols that PAIIR has been celebrating, namely in the area of academic training in immigration law.
What challenges arose? How did you navigate them?
There are several challenges that arise when developing this type of project. Among the main ones are the cross-cutting limitations associated with COVID-19 and the availability to reconcile the project alongside one’s professional and personal lives. We believe that the development and improvement of the sector are beneficial to all players, and in that sense, with some personal effort, dedication and respect for moral and deontological principles, we are confident that it will be a successful and ongoing project.
