Portugal has until now been one of the EU countries most open to the arrival of immigrants. Since 2017, an immigration law was in force, approved by the socialist Government of António Costa, which allowed the regularization of those people who arrived without a work permit with the simple presentation of a declaration of interest. Luís Montenegro, prime minister of the conservative Democratic Alliance coalition, defended this afternoon the shift in the country’s immigration policy to “end some mechanisms that have become an excessive abuse of our capacity to welcome immigrants.”
“It is necessary to regulate immigration to give dignity to people. “Portugal should not be and will not be with closed doors to those who seek opportunities, who have qualifications and who we need, but we cannot go to the extreme of opening doors wide without control or support,” said the prime minister. The tightening of immigration policy, in line with the winds blowing from most European countries, distances itself from the openness line that had distinguished the previous executive of António Costa who, among other measures, in the middle of the pandemic decreed an express regularization of all immigrants who were pending residence authorization to allow them to have access to health services and unemployment benefits in the event of dismissal.
The Action Plan for Migration, presented this afternoon in Lisbon after being approved by the Council of Ministers, certifies the end of this exceptional regime, which it describes as “an open door and source of a large part of the conflicts.” Montenegro assured that the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) is not working well. This organization replaced the old Service for Foreigners at Borders (SEF), dissolved after the death of a Ukrainian who was attacked by agents at the Lisbon airport in 2020. The agency regularized the situation of 180,000 immigrants in 2023, but has accumulated a long list of unattended requests, which are around 400,000. The legal changes will not affect people who already have their administrative process underway.
Immigration policy is one of the main assets used in all electoral campaigns by Chega, the far-right party led by André Ventura. This afternoon, Montenegro tried to distance itself from the populist discourse that links immigration and citizen insecurity. “There is no direct relationship between the capacity to receive and welcome immigrants and insecurity. There are crimes committed by nationals and foreigners,” he indicated.
The new rule, which will have to be approved by the Presidency of the Republic before coming into force, gives priority to citizens from Portuguese-speaking countries, in addition to the profiles selected by the Portuguese Government to attract qualified labor and foreign university students. . Border control will be in the hands of the Foreigners and Borders Unit, newly created and integrated into the Public Security Police. It is also planned to reinforce the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum with more personnel to try to speed up pending processes.
Among the 41 measures of the Migration Action Plan also includes the creation of a residence permit for social investments in reception infrastructure and immigrant integration projects, a variant of the golden visas that previously facilitated residence in exchange for real estate purchases. Likewise, the Portuguese Government announces the opening in Lisbon of an emergency reception center with capacity for 200 places, which will accommodate recently arrived immigrants who lack accommodation and sleep on the streets.
Join Morning Express to follow all the news and read without limits.
Subscribe
Follow all the international information on Facebook and xor in our weekly newsletter.
.
.
_