Immigration to Portugal

Retornados, return migration and first immigrant communities: 1954–1986

India annexed the Portuguese-ruled Dadra and Nagar Haveli in 1954 and integrated Daman and Diu and Goa in 1961, ending Portuguese colonial rule in India. In 1961, the newly independent state of Benin expelled the small Portuguese garrison that was stationed at the Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá, which had been a center of Portuguese trade and influence in West Africa.

Following these events, white Portuguese settlers, people of mixed Portuguese descent, and others began migrating to Portugal. Moreover, many from the former colonies in India traveled via Karachi, a city hosting an important Goan community. In addition to civilians, the migration included approximately 3,500 Portuguese military officers, who sought to resettle in Portugal. In the first two weeks following the annexation of Goa, around 1,000 people moved to Portugal by air or by boat.^{[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]}

According to a 2017 estimate by Casa de Goa, the Goan association in Portugal, approximately 20,000 people of Goan descent then lived in Portugal. However, other estimates suggest that the community may number as many as 50,000.^[40][41][42] The overwhelming majority of Goan-Portuguese people natively speak Portuguese and are Catholic, thus facilitating the integration process that peaked in the 1960s and 1970s, following the Indian annexation. Moreover, as the majority came during the 1960s and 1970s, a large proportion of people of Goan descent living in Portugal are second or third generation immigrants, with the overwhelming majority being Portuguese nationals.^[43][44][45]

While they are a fraction (about 16%) of the Indians in Portugal, Goans are well-adapted. As early as the 19th century, Goans had become members of parliament (e.g. Francisco Gomes) and, by 1958, 23 university professors and 19 politicians of Goan descent were present in the country. Of the 14 Prime Ministers in Portuguese democratic history, 2 were of Goan descent: Alfredo Nobre da Costa and António Costa.^[46][47][48] Goans in Portugal are mainly of upper class extraction and work in highly-qualified professions. Later, they were joined by migrants of Goan descent from African colonies, especially Mozambique.^{[49][50][51][52][53][54]}

On the other hand, Gujarati speakers from Daman and Diu tended to show lower levels of integration, with a large community found in Lisbon metropolitan area, where they also have one of the oldest Hindu temples in Portugal.^[55][56][57] Another centre of Gujarati-speaking Indians can be found in the Lisbon metropolitan area, where in 1983 the first Hindu temple in Portugal was built.^[58][59][60] In particular, Gujarati-speaking people came later with respect to Goan-Portuguese and often lived in marginalised places – including slums – up until the early 2000s.^[61][62]

In the late 1960s, Portugal also saw an influx of people of Portuguese descent relocating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.^[63]

A major immigrant influx and—to date, the largest wave—started in 1974, when over a million Portuguese citizens from Portugal's African territories (mostly from Angola and Mozambique) immigrated.^[64] They are known as retornados (meaning "those who came back") — Portuguese settlers and descendants of Portuguese (or other Europeans such as Germans or Italians) settlers born in former African colonies who relocated to Portugal after independence and in the first half of the 1980s. Due to colonization, white and mestiço people were frowned upon; in many cases, white Luso-Africans experienced racist incidents. In particular, due to the Angolan Civil War, Portuguese in Angola left en masse, often leaving their possessions behind, allowed to exit the country with only 15,000 escudos (approx. €2,929 in 2025).^[65] Of those leaving Mozambique, many were part of the Indian community along with whites and Blacks.^{[66][67][68][69][70][71]} In 2021, 240,499 retornados were still alive and resided in Portugal after having left Africa in the 1970s.^[72]

In the second half of the 1980s, immigration by people of African descent became noticeable, attracted by Portuguese economic growth and the worsening of conditions in Angola and Mozambique due to continuing civil wars. One of the primary settlement areas for Black communities in Portugal, especially from Cape Verde, were the lands on the northern side of the Lisbon metropolitan area. Starting from the 1970s, clandestine neighborhoods (bairros clandestinos) emerged there, often lacking basic services and plagued by crime.^[73] From 1993 onwards, with Portugal's slum eradication program, many people were provided with alternative public housing and, despite initial discrimination, found success.^[74][73][75]

1986–2007

Immigration to Portugal increased after the country's accession to the EU in 1986 and soared in the late 1990s, partly due to human trafficking.^[76][77]

After Macau returned to China in 1999, many Macanese moved to Portugal. According to a 1991 survey, 70% of Macanese were planning to emigrate, including 63.5% who planned to move to Portugal. In 1991, 500 Macanese families were living in Lisbon.^{[78][79][80][81]}

Ukrainian migration to Portugal started in the late 1990s, and grew in the early 2000s. Initially, immigrants arrived through both organized and illegal channels, often with Schengen visas.^[82][83][84]

In 2007, the country hosted around 435,000 foreign residents,^[85] excluding naturalised citizens and people of foreign descent. From 1998 to 2006, around 21,000 people were granted citizenship, with more than 60% hailing from Africa, and in particular from Portuguese speaking African countries.^[86]

2008–2013

Immigration to Portugal decreased significantly after the 2008 financial crisis. At the same time, emigration increased.

Between 2008 and 2013 the unemployment rate rose from 7.6% to 17.1%^[87] and 2013 GDP was 7.60% lower than 2007 GDP.^[88] Between 2007 and 2013 inflation reached 10.4%, significantly decreasing the purchasing power of Portuguese families.^[89] From 2008 to 2013, around 412,000 people left the country (51% permanently).^[90] Of those who left the country 5.5% (22,547 people) were foreigners and 65.3% of the departing foreigners left permanently. Thus 3.9% of the 2008 population left the country in just 6 years.

Portugal reached its historical population peak–through 2023^[91]–in 2009 with 10,573,479 residents: this value decreased to 10,395,121 (−1.7%) at the end of 2013, due to the combined effect of increased emigration, decreasing immigration, reduced fertility, and population ageing.^[92] Only 140,845 people immigrated to Portugal between 2008 and 2013, a net migration loss of around −271,000. In particular, in 2012 less than 15,000 immigrants permanently settled in Portugal.^[93]

In 2007 the Ukrainian community was the second largest foreign community; thereafter declining investment in public projects and improved immigration control prompted many Ukrainians to leave.^[94]

As the economic crisis eased and tourism increase along with industrial production, immigration increased again after 2013.

During the given timespan, the number of foreigners in Portugal fell from 446,333 to 388,731, recording a 12.89% loss in eight years. Portugal was particularly hit by the 2008 Global recession. Between 2008 and 2013, Portugal experienced a notable uptick in its unemployment rate, escalating from 7.6% to 17.1%. The GDP in 2013 saw a marked 7.60% decline compared to its 2007 value. During this period, inflation reached 10.35%, substantially eroding the purchasing power of Portuguese households. Of those who were obliged to leave the country, 5.47% or 22,547 people were foreign nationals, and 65.3% of the foreigners doing so left the country permanently.^[87][89][88] Despite the crisis and the subsequent emigration, one of the main reasons for the reduction in the number of foreigners in Portugal is due to the high number of naturalisations: 179,458 foreigners became Portuguese from January 2008 to December 2015.^[95]

2014–2019

Following the recovery of the Portuguese economy starting in 2014, immigration to Portugal increased once again. From 2014 to 2019, emigration decreased by 42.8% while immigration increased by 413%.^[93]

Between 2013 and 2019, the unemployment rate in Portugal fell from 17.1% to 6.6%,^[87] and the 2019 GDP was 14.4% higher than the value recorded for 2013 GDP. The value recorded for 2019 GDP was 5.7% higher than the one recorded in 2007: Portugal officially recovered from the 2008 financial crisis and the troika austerity measures in 2017.^[88] Moreover, between 2014 and 2019, the increase in prices was modest (3.5% inflation), meaning that the Purchasing power of Portuguese families increased significantly.^[89]

During these years, almost 573,000 people left the country: despite Portugal's reputation as an economic success story since the 2008 financial crisis, many young, educated workers were more attracted by significantly higher wages in countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland or Germany.^[96] On the other hand, the share of those leaving permanently fell to 38.4%, meaning that high-skilled workers were, after 2013, more willing to return after having acquired work experience.^[90] As a measure to reverse skill-drain, population decrease, and ageing, the government created measures to attract Portuguese emigrants.^[97]

Of those who left the country, 4% (22,685 people) were foreigners, including 31.4% who left permanently. This means that although 5.5% of the 2013 population left the country in 6 years (2014–2019), the majority of them – or 61.6% – did so for less than one year.^[92] After 2014, the country's population decline rate started to slow. The population still fell (to 10,333,496 people in 2018) – equivalent to the country's population in January 2000 – mostly due to population ageing. On the other hand, by the end of 2019, due to increasing immigration, Portugal's population had recovered the value recorded in 2014 (around 10,395,000).^[92]

Around 295,000 people immigrated permanently to Portugal between 2014 and 2019. In particular, 51.1% of those who settled in Portugal in this period did so between 2018 and 2019.^[93] The surge in immigration was due to good economic conditions, to the crisis in Brazil (the primary source of immigration in Portugal) and to programs devised during the 2008–2013 crisis aimed at attracting foreign capital: these include the Non-habitual residency (NHR) taxation law (2009), the the residence permit for investment program (2012), and the Sephardi Nationality Act (2015).

The Portuguese government developed successful strategies aiming at calling back Portuguese emigrants and at attracting foreign citizens.

In 2009 a program was introduced that has attracted foreigners, particularly since 2013 – the special tributary regime that grants to certain categories of new residents a flat tax and protects them from double taxation (NHR).^[98] Many pensioners, especially from Northern European countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Finland and Norway moved to Portugal over this law. 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.^{[99][100][101][102][103]} Nevertheless, pensioners continued immigrating to enjoy to the high quality of life and Mediterranean climate.

The residence permit for investment program law was enacted in 2012. It was initially an immigrant investor program that granted Portuguese residency to people who invested in properties worth at least €500,000 or created 10 jobs in Portugal.^[104] As of September 2023 the program had resulted in 33,142 residence permits granted, of which 38.4% went to investors and 61.6% to their family members. 42.5% of the investors who have benefited from the program came from China, other significant countries include Brazil (10%), the US (6.1%), Turkey (4.8%) and South Africa (4.5%). Around 6.5 billion euros (€) were invested in the acquisition of 11,383 real estate properties (averaging 566,754 €), but only 23 jobs were created.^[105] In addition, around 867 million euros (€) were transferred to Portugal.^[106] The lack of new jobs led to the end of program in July 2023.^[107][108]

A last measure that has boosted immigration to Portugal is the law aimed at the descendants of Portuguese Jews expelled in 1496. In 2015 the Portuguese parliament officially acknowledged the expulsion as wrong. To try to make up for the past mistakes, the government passed a law known as Law of Return.^[109] The law aims to right the historic wrongs of the Portuguese Inquisition, which resulted in the expulsion or forced conversion of thousands of Jews from Portugal in the 15th and 16th centuries. The law grants citizenship to descendants of those persecuted Jews who can prove their Sephardic Jewish ancestry and a "connection" to Portugal.^{[110][111][112][113]} Since 2015, more than 262,000 people from 60 countries (mostly from Israel or Turkey) applied for Portuguese citizenship under the law, of which 75,000 (or 28.6% of the applicants) were granted Portuguese passports.^{[114][115][116][117][118]} According to a 2023 estimate, as many as 15,000 Portuguese-Israelis had immigrated.^[119] Doubts arose over the law's implementation after it was revealed that people such as Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich had become Portuguese citizens under the new law. Due to the controversies and the recent judicial investigations, the law ended in December 2024.^{[120][121][122][123][124][125][126][127]}

2020–present

Immigration steadily increased in the 2020s. At the beginning of 2020, 590,348 foreigners lived in the country; their number increased to 781,915 at the end of 2022. The population increased from 5.7% to 7.5% in 3 years. From December 2019 to December 2022, the number of foreigners increased by 32.4%.

From 2020 to 2022, some 205,909 people emigrated, continuing the emigration recorded since 2014. This means that 2.0% of the 2019 population left the country in those years, but 60.2% did so temporarily.^[92]

In 2023 Portugal was the European Union country with the most emigrants in relative terms. In the prior 20 years,15 per cent of the population emigrated. Portugal had the highest proportion of emigrants in Europe and ranked eighth globally in terms of the percentage of its population who left.^{[131][132][133]}

In early 2023, Portugal regularized some 113,000 CPLP citizens residing in the country.^[134][135] By September the number of Portuguese-speaking immigrants who had received an "authorization of residence," valid for one year and automatically renewed for those with a clean criminal record, had reached 151,000, of whom 75% were Brazilians.^{[136][137][138][139]} It was reported that in February 2023 around 300,000 foreigners who lived in Portugal were awaiting regularization due to SEF's inability to process them.^[140] By November, the number had reached 700,000.^[141]

In July 2023 the Portuguese government sent officials to recruit workers in India, Morocco, Timor-Leste and Cabo Verde.^[142]

The Portuguese government introduced, after the 2008 financial crisis, measures aimed at attracting foreign capital. In particular, they offered the Non-habitual residency (NHR) taxation law (2009), the the residence permit for investment program (2012), and the Sephardi Nationality Act (2015). All three programs were eliminated by the end of 2024.

The NHR, a scheme offering a flat tax and protection from double taxation for specific categories of people relocating to Portugal, underwent significant changes in 2020. This adjustment was prompted by an influx of pensioners, particularly from Nordic countries, who moved to Portugal to take advantage of a fiscal regime that was superior to their home countries. The Portuguese government ended the 10-year tax incentive regime for non-permanent residents, including digital nomads in 2024. Prime Minister António Costa stated that the regime would persist for current beneficiaries. Costa argued that maintaining different tax levels for non-permanent residents would perpetuate fiscal injustice and inflate the real estate market. As of July 2023, 89,000 foreigners were benefiting from the non-permanent resident tax regime.^{[143][144][145]} The Golden Visa program, initiated in 2012, was terminated in October 2023 due to the Mais Habitação program. The decision to end the program, aimed at foreigners purchasing real estate, was driven by escalating housing prices. The law did not impact renewals but ended new permits. The Mais Habitação program, which faced opposition, but was approved in July, included measures such as rent caps and restrictions on property sales to non-residents, leading to public protests.^[146]

In 2023 the law permitting people of Portuguese-Jewish descent to acquire Portuguese citizenship ended. Since 2013, around 262,000 people had requested to be naturalized due to their Sephardi ancestry; almost half were Israelis. Of these, more than 75,000 acquired Portuguese citizenship. Since the announcement of the end of the law in 2023, around 74,000 people started their applications.^{[147][148][149]}

Despite the end of the immigration programs, the number of foreign nationals increased during 2023: by December, the number had increased to 1,045,000 people, a 40% increase since January of the same year with 329,000 residence permits given during 2023.^{[150][151][152]} 35% of foreign residents were Brazilians: including Luso-Brazilians and Brazilians awaiting regularization, Brazilian residents were estimated to number 750,000.^[153] The increase in the number of foreign nationals created a widespread debate, about whether to restrict^[154] or increase immigration.^[155][156]

During the 2024/2025 school year, amongst 83,134 pupils entering the public school system, 10,297 were foreign nationals, representing 12.4%, an increase of 1,160 from 2023/24.^[158] In early 2025, more than 140,000 foreign pupils were enrolled.^[159] As of 2024 more than 6,000 foreign nurses and doctors worked in Portugal.^[160]

Following the 2024 Portuguese legislative elections a 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 argued that 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.

Beginning in 2017, migrants could secure legal status by proving employment, even without a valid visa. A 2019 amendment further enabled regularisation for those with 12 months of social security contributions. The decree claimed that these measures created a strong pull factor, encouraging irregular migration with false promises of legalisation. The new law revoked this mechanism while safeguarding migrants who had already applied. It also addresses issues linked to the reduction of the Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) and the misallocation of resources. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa promptly ratified the decree, citing the urgent need to resolve thousands of pending residency applications.^[161][162]

The government's strategy formally ended the regime that enabled uncontrolled entry. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro described declarations of interest as an open door to abuse, vowing to curb such policies. Measures included bolstering consular processing in priority countries, transforming the current CPLP mobility visa into a Schengen visa, and creating a Foreigners and Borders Unit within the PSP to monitor migration. The plan also introduced emergency response centres for immigration cases.^[163]

Evolution

Community decline was mostly attributable to naturalization. For example, between 2008 and 2016, the Cape Verdean non-citizen population in Portugal decreased by 25,993 while 31,970 naturalized. Other communities declined due other factors such as emigration and negative natural balance.^{[clarification needed]} However, this was not the only factor. Between 2008 and 2016 the number of English residents fell by 6,341. Since only 127 Britons naturalized during the period the British community fell by 6,214 people.^[95]

More information Country ...

Country	2008[173][174]	2016[175][174]	2023
Brazil	70,132	82,590	368,449
United Kingdom	23,574	17,233	47,492
Cape Verde	64,667	38,674	48,885
India	4,401	6,935	44,051
Angola	32,819	18,247	55,589
Italy	5,994	6,130	36,227
France	10,540	8,441	27,549
Ukraine	39,606	35,779	23,499
Nepal	314	4,798	29,972
Guinea-Bissau	25,039	17,091	32,535
Romania	19,280	30,523	20,881
China	10,982	21,376	28,127
Germany	15,493	9,035	22,858
Spain	18,031	10,019	20,573
Bangladesh	1,193	2,571	25,666
São Tomé and Príncipe	11,015	9,555	26,488
Netherlands	6,598	5,855	13,592
Pakistan	2,383	3,042	17,148
United States	8,733	2,619	14,126
Venezuela	3,740	2,010	9,300
Belgium	3,101	2,388	6,723
Russia	5,674	4,260	10,901
Sweden	1,655	1,989	6,070
Moldova	14,813	6,948	5,156
Bulgaria	5,076	6,722	4,565
Mozambique	5,954	2,809	8,127
Poland	913	1,382	4,931
Ireland	887	892	5,450
Switzerland	1,842	1,263	3,836
Morocco	1,928	1,681	3,739
South Africa	2,116	635	3,325
Colombia	675	907	3,092
Senegal	1,966	1,515	2,571
Thailand	193	1,428	2,144
Iran	632	545	2,456
Austria	827	607	1,810
Canada	1,992	738	2,200
Denmark	1,075	575	1,800
Cuba	731	901	1,807
Turkey	310	596	2,555
Uzbekistan	604	992	1,333
Hungary	386	480	1,456
Finland	702	834	1,300
Philippines	496	756	1,535
Syria	96	164	1,434
Guinea	1,847	1,526	1,325
Norway	834	515	1,196
Argentina	717	447	1,633
Nigeria	354	428	1,478
Algeria	231	316	2,023
Lithuania	430	535	1,134
Greece	252	248	1,134
Indonesia	38	140	1,031
Mexico	363	433	995
Afghanistan	5	41	970
Kazakhstan	598	537	815
Latvia	193	333	896
Czech Republic	313	274	838
Belarus	782	632	1,077
Tunisia	124	176	1,172
Australia	544	269	904
Egypt	358	298	1,007
Peru	325	256	923
Equador	427	292	1,146
Luxembourg	165	144	726
Lebanon	206	162	1,116
Chile	301	183	895
Israel	137	108	922
Japan	976	397	649
Iraq	157	126	717
Slovakia	187	164	579
Georgia	868	727	507
Vietnam	15	77	1,052
Croatia	154	174	516
Gambia	90	152	716
Estonia	86	121	439
Timor Leste	86	169	1,199
Jordan	92	138	581
Serbia	380	192	339
Cameroon	79	127	356
Slovenia	57	96	327
DRC	425	235	317
South Korea	263	182	365
Uruguay	154	122	267
Ghana	202	137	349
Ivory Coast	157	121	240
Dominican Republic	92	132	230
Eritrea	0	40	154
Sudan	16	38	203
Cyprus	3	12	219
Paraguay	47	92	206
Iceland	68	62	213
Bolivia	99	109	185
Sierra Leone	115	63	155
New Zealand	79	39	207
Malta	14	25	184
Sri Lanka	3	60	203
Libya	54	196	160
Malaysia	59	59	170
Kenya	311	64	176
Singapore	46	28	156
Costa Rica	22	53	131
Albania	60	42	120
Armenia	61	74	148
Guatemala	35	51	112
Panama	38	27	99
Zimbabwe	92	38	118
Congo	134	64	101
Mali	115	45	88
El Salvador	17	36	103
South Sudan	0	0	74
Somalia	1	54	87
Ethiopia	22	51	94
Azerbaijan	10	46	107
Togo	55	35	68
North Macedonia	51	27	85
Palestine	23	52	91
Honduras	17	30	76
Bosnia and Herzegovina	127	57	66
Nicaragua	13	16	66
Saudi Arabia	23	20	203
Taiwan	8	36	74
Saint Kitts and Nevis	2	15	77
Tanzania	335	32	55
Cambodia	0	10	98
Uganda	14	18	60
Equatorial Guinea	33	51	55
Namibia	10	18	48
Tajikistan	3	15	46
Mauritius	13	17	55
Kyrgyzstan	49	31	44
Yemen	2	18	52
Gabon	8	17	28
Rwanda	33	20	42
Zambia	14	7	28
Mauritania	53	24	31
Burkina Faso	12	13	32
Kosovo	0	27	32
Kuwait	19	1	85
Mongolia	4	32	29
Benin	28	12	29
Unknown	17	14	20
Haiti	4	5	20
Montenegro	16	9	23
Stateless	273	0	12
Liberia	43	16	27
Malawi	27	12	26
Andorra	15	3	17
Trinidad and Tobago	21	8	23
Botswana	11	7	16
Jamaica	17	12	19
Madagascar	18	9	27
Dominica	3	7	27
Eswatini	16	8	18
Bahrain	16	4	23
Turkmenistan	4	12	14
Bhutan	0	1	13
United Arab Emirates	2	5	31
Niger	0	6	11
Liechtenstein	5	3	12
Central African Republic	5	7	5
Guyana	25	4	10
Maldives	7	3	8
Myanmar	2	7	17
Antigua and Barbuda	0	1	20
Qatar	2	0	13
Burundi	2	6	12
Vanuatu			9
Seychelles	4	6	8
Grenada	3	4	9
Suriname	6	0	8
Oman		3	8
Maldives		3	8
Belize		6	7
Djibouti		0	7
Other countries (below 5)	57	21	34
Total foreigners	446,333	388,731	1,044,606
Share of the population[176]	4.23%	3.76%	9.82%'

Close

During the period, the number of foreigners in Portugal rose from 388,731 to 1,044,606, surpassing that from earlier years.^[177] Between 2013 and 2023, Portugal's unemployment rate declined from 17.1% to 6.1%,^[178] and the 2022 GDP increased by 18.4% compared to 2013, despite the pandemic. The 2022 GDP was 9.5% higher than the 2007 figure, surpassing the 2008 financial crisis and troika austerity measures in 2017.^[87][89][88]