The new Portuguese government tightens migration rules

The new Portuguese government has decided to tighten migration rules to this country for all non-EU citizens.

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Known for having one of the most liberal immigration regimes in the European Union, Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said that the country will no longer pursue a “wide open door” policy, Schengen.News reports.

As part of the new Migration Action Plan, the government has decided to reduce the number of migrants by tightening current regulations.

According to the authorities, one of the changes is that non-EU citizens will no longer be able to migrate to Portugal without an employment contract.

This means that migrants who want to reach Portugal in the future will have to secure a job, sign a contract and then enter the country.

Putting an end to the rule of moving to a country without an employment contract, Portugal’s new Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said the government wanted to avoid excessive abuse of the system.

In addition to the above, the new government has stated that it will focus on attracting foreign talent and will introduce a plan to help foreigners integrate in Portugal.

The currently approved plan is based on the principle that Portugal needs and wants to welcome more immigrants – for demographic, social and economic reasons. Immigration that must be regulated and monitored, accompanied by humanistic integration.

The action plan will focus on 4 main areas of migration control

As revealed by the official website of the Portuguese government, the Action Plan is divided into four main areas.

Among many other changes, the government aims to promote legal migration, attract foreign talent, support the integration process and institutional reorganization.

The plan is divided into four main areas of action: regulated immigration; attracting foreign talents; people integration that works; and institutional reorganization.

The authorities stressed that special attention will also be paid to the review of entry rules. Enhanced controls across the country will also be introduced to, among other things, fight illegal migration and human trafficking.

Portugal currently has a backlog of migrant legalization applications

Portugal is seeing a large number of migrant inflows, and the number of foreigners in the country has doubled in the last five years.

Due to the large influx of migrants, the country is currently struggling with a backlog of legalization applications.

According to the Prime Minister of Montenegro, there are currently approximately 400,000 legalization applications pending.

Data shows that around 180,000 migrants were regularized in 2023.