On Monday (3), the Portuguese government announced a new immigration plan containing new rules that will affect thousands of Brazilians living in Portugal. After all, nearly 400,000 Brazilians live legally in the country, according to the latest data from the Integration, Immigration and Asylum Agency (AIMA), the body responsible for administrative functions related to immigrants. In 2023, the total number of foreigners legally residing in the country exceeded one million.
Published plan combines 41 measures It focused on four “axes,” ranging from reviewing entry rules into the country and resolving outstanding issues and irregular situations, including monitoring and responding to public services.
According to a statement from the Portuguese government, the aim is to “correct serious problems in the entry rules into Portugal, resolve AIMA’s operational deficit and ensure the operation of border control systems.”
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One of the changes that draws the most attention is the extinction of the procedure
“Expression of Interest”, a mechanism widely used by non-European Union (EU) migrants for years to enable them to move to Portugal without an employment contract, allowing them to apply for residence after paying social security for one year. In practice, the end of the mechanism means that migrants need to have a work contract before moving to the country.
The Portuguese government also intends to establish a working group to resolve more than 400,000 cases awaiting settlement, in addition to creating new mechanisms to accelerate judicial appeals processes related to immigration and asylum.
Other measures announced also include measures such as simplifying the process of granting equivalencies in basic education, strengthening and managing migrants' access to the National Health Service and expanding the direct service available for migrant citizens to request their sectoral identifiers, such as NIF (tax identification number) or NISS (social security identification number).
