Immigration to Portugal

Major groups of immigrants to Portugal include Brazilians, Angolans, Cape Verdeans, Britons, Indians, Bissau-Guineans, Nepalis, Chinese, São Toméans, Bangladeshis, Ukrainians, Romanians, Pakistanis, US citizens, Russians, Venezuelans, Mozambicans and Moldovans.

Immigrants are essential for labor market efficiency, with foreigners in countries like Portugal displaying higher activity rates than nationals, as per the 2022 Annual Statistical Report of the Observatory.

Subsequently, in 1961, India also integrated the territories of Daman and Diu and Goa, thereby bringing an end to Portuguese colonial rule in these areas and fully incorporating them into the Indian Union.

The newly independent state of Benin expelled the small Portuguese garrison that was stationed at the Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá, located in the town of Ouidah.

[55][56][57] The overwhelming majority of Goan-Portuguese people speak Portuguese as their native language and are Catholic, thus facilitating the integration process that predominantly took place in the 1960s and 1970s, following the annexation of Goa by the Indian Union.

[64][65][66][67][68][69] On the other hand, Gujarati speakers from Daman and Diu tend to show lower level of integration, with a large community found in Marvila, Lisbon.

In particular, due to the outbreak of the Angolan Civil War, Portuguese in Angola left en masse, often having to leave all of their possessions behind and being allowed to exit the country with only 15,000 escudos to start a new life; this is the equivalent of approximately euros (€) 2,870 as of 2023.

[80]In the second half of the 1980s, immigration towards Portugal by people of African descent became visible, especially because of the Portuguese economic growth and the worsening of the conditions in Angola and Mozambique due to the respective civil wars that were fought in the two countries.

While some initially intended short stays, many chose long-term residence, establishing families and pursuing the recognition of their qualifications for access to higher-paying jobs.

[107] On the other hand, it is significant to note that the share of those leaving permanently fell to 38.4%, meaning that high skilled workers are, after 2013, more willing to come back to Portugal after having acquired some years of experience, typically in Northern European countries.

[105] The surge in immigration was due to the good economic conditions of the country, to the crisis in Brazil (the primary source of immigration in Portugal) and to numerous programs devised during the years of the 2008–2013 crisis aimed at attracting foreign capitals: these include the Non-habitual residency (NHR) taxation law (2009), the Portuguese Golden Visa law (2012), and the Sephardi Nationality Act (2015).

It is with this goal that in 2009 was devised a program that has attracted foreigners, particularly since 2013: it is the special tributary regime that grants to certain categories of new residents a flat tax and protects them from double taxation (NHR).

[109] Many pensioners, especially from Northern European countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Finland and Norway have taken advantage of the law and moved to Portugal.

Due to increased pressure from the countries of origin of the retirees as well as from the local Portuguese population (subject to a different taxation system) the program was drastically changed.

[110][111][112][113][114] Nevertheless, pensioners continue coming to Portugal thanks to the high quality of life, Mediterranean climate and sunny weather.Another program is the Golden visa law, devised in 2012.

[100] Other immigrant communities, like most of those arrived from other EU member states, are a result of the attractiveness of the country for high income foreign citizens looking for a better quality of life, a warmer sunny weather, security and exquisite cuisine.

[143][144][145] Lusophone migrants act and end of Golden visa, NHR and nationality for Sephardi Jews: 2023–presentIt is expected that the number of foreigners will further increase in the next few years: in early 2023, Portugal regularized around 113,000 CPLP citizens residing illegally in the country.

[146][147] By September the number of Portuguese-speaking immigrants who have received an "authorization of residence" -valid for one year and automatically renewed for those with clean criminal record - had reached 151,000 people, of whom 75% are Brazilians.

[152] It is also worth noting that in July 2023 the Portuguese government sent abroad - for the first time - officials to recruit workers in India, Morocco, Timor-Leste and Cabo Verde.

Costa argued that maintaining differentiated tax levels for non-permanent residents would perpetuate fiscal injustice and inflate the real estate market.

The Mais Habitação program, which faced opposition but was approved in July, includes measures like rent caps and restrictions on property sales to non-residents, leading to public protests.

[175] Following the 2024 Portuguese legislative elections a new right-wing government was formed and, in June 2024, it decided to abolish residence permits based on declarations of interest, a system that previously allowed migrants to regularise their status without a visa.

The PSD-CDS government argues this policy was misguided, contradicting Portugal’s Schengen commitments and leading to an exponential rise in residency requests, often exploited by human trafficking and illegal migration networks.

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa promptly ratified the decree, citing the urgent need to resolve thousands of pending residency applications.

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro described declarations of interest as an open door to abuse, vowing to curb policies that overstretched Portugal’s capacity to host migrants.

In 2023 there were 171,651 from the 6 PALOP countries (Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Principe, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde), in addition to 1,199 people from Timor-Leste.

[24] A number of EU citizens have also chosen Portugal as a destination, with the majority being part of the Italian, French, Romanian, German or Spanish communities.

[241][242][243][244][245]To combat fraudulent claims, the Portuguese government enacted a decree-law on 9 March 2022, increasing scrutiny for applicants, emphasizing a substantial connection with Portugal.

According to RBI programs operated by a handful of Member States of EU, Non-European citizens can have access to residency or citizenship in exchange for specified investments in the country.

Under Portugal's Golden Visa program, which has been in service since 8 October 2012, the Portuguese government grants a residence permit to those who invest an amount of at least €350,000 which is maintained for at least (a continuous) five years.