Regulated and humane immigration: Government migration policy is controlled, dignified and with inte

Regulated and humane immigration is one of the 10 lines/axes of the Transformative Agenda presented by the Government.  The new paradigm is based on three fundamental pillars: solving the past, regulating the past, and integrating responsibly in the future.

After years set by an uncontrolled immigration policy, which left the state without capacity to respond and not knowing who came in, where they live or whether they have criminal priors or not, Luís Montenegro’s second Government took on the responsibility of changing the path it is on.

The migration policy from 2017 to 2024 led to around half a million files being pending, the end of the Borders and Immigration agency without suitable safeguards, eliminating security checks, and dismantling integration policies. This situation caused social instability, disregard for the dignity of those who arrived, and added pressure on the public services, that ceased to have response capabilities.

The turning point began in 2024 with the end of the doors ajar policy. The Government ended the statements of interest and solved in less than a year around 500 thousand pending files. It ensured compliance with the law, brought back document control and security checks, and handled the requests with rigour and humanity. Of the 446 thousand statement of interest requests, around half was rejected and the other half finally settled.

Maintaining the same policy of firmness and humanism, the Government presented a set of structural measures, to wit:  

1. Revision of the Citizenship Law, demanding a longer period of effective residence and eliminating periods of illegal stays, ensuring that Portuguese nationality reflects a real and responsible relationship with the country.

2. Revision of the Foreigners’ Law and the Asylum Law, suiting flows to the capacity of the public services and Portuguese society. The visa to find a job is reserved for candidates who are highly qualified. The introduction of learning Portuguese language criteria is also being assesses for renewals of certain residence permits.

3. Creation of a National Border and Immigration Unit at the PSP, ensuring an effective and humane control of borders, asylum requests, and return procedures.

4. Completion of the new temporary facilities and akin spaces with better conditions and a new triage model at the European Union’s external borders.

5. Creation of a quick and effective scheme to keep foreigners in an illegal situation away, in line with the new European regulations.

6. Fighting illegal immigration and human trafficking, reinforcing operations on the ground in articulation with law enforcement, AIMA, ACT, ASAE, AT, and other respective bodies.

7. Holding employers and educational institutions accountable, who must bear the social costs of integration immigrants under the terms of the Responsible Labour Immigration Agreement and envisaging its broadening to the social sector and higher education.

8. Attracting highly qualified talent from abroad, focusing especially on Portuguese emigrants and Portuguese descendants.

9. Boosting integration initiatives based on a logic of rights and duties, with activities for students at schools, public services’ users, and local communities, fostering Portuguese language and culture and preventing the creation of ghettos.

The Government’s new migration policy seeks to ensure that those who come to Portugal find an organised country that is fair and ready to accommodate, and that does so in a humane manner yet is also responsible and firm in complying with the law and the country’s capacity to integrate.