Portugal News

BERN, Switzerland, June 14, 2026 — The radical right's proposal to limit Switzerland's population, with the clear aim of restricting immigration, was rejected in the country following the elections held this Sunday.

Swiss voters rejected a far-right initiative to limit the population to 10 million by 2050 in a referendum on Sunday, with national projections indicating a victory for the "no" vote, according to state broadcaster SRF.

Lisbon June 12, 2026 — Portugal’s Parliament has rejected Projeto de Lei 293/XVII/1, a proposal authored by the Joint Action Group against Racism and Xenophobia (GAC) to strengthen the Penal Code against racism, xenophobia and other forms of discrimination.

The proposal aimed to make racist and discriminatory conduct a more serious criminal offence, including cases linked to ethnic or racial origin, nationality, religion, colour, language, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability.

Lisbon 12 June, 2026 — Portugal’s centre-right Democratic Alliance government has succeeded in approving a bill that ends the granting of residence permits to foreign students who arrive in the country without a prior visa.

With the support of the far right, which abstained, the government secured parliamentary approval to end the regularisation route for foreign students who do not hold a long-stay study visa.

Lisbon, June 11, 2026 — Portugal’s Parliament discussed today two Government proposals that may bring important changes to the country’s asylum, border control and return procedures.

The proposals are linked to the European Union’s Migration and Asylum Pact and aim to update Portuguese law in line with new EU rules on migration management, border screening and international protection.

Lisbon 11 June, 2026 — Portugal’s Parliament is voting today on a new immigration law package that may bring important changes for immigrants, foreign residents and new arrivals.

One of the biggest proposed changes is the end of “deferimento tácito” for residence permit renewals. Until now, in some cases, if AIMA did not decide within the legal deadline, the renewal could be treated as automatically approved. The new proposal aims to remove this automatic approval mechanism.

Lisbon 09 June, 2026 — The Government’s proposed changes to the Foreigners Law would remove “deferimento tácito”, a legal mechanism used when AIMA fails to decide renewal requests within the deadline. The measure is not yet law and is expected to be voted in Parliament this week.

Portugal’s Government is moving to end the automatic approval mechanism currently available in some delayed residence-permit renewal cases, as part of a broader tightening of immigration rules.

Huelva: 06 June, 2026 — Portugal opposes return centers outside the European area and is trying to moderate the radical measures of the EU immigration agreement in the final vote.

The Minister of the Presidency responsible for migration, António Leitão Amaro, criticized the regulation on the return of immigrants agreed upon between the main EU institutions. His statement was made yesterday in Huelva, Spain, during the Ibero-American Forum on Migration and Development.

Brussels: 04 June, 2026 — Brussels has sent a formal notification letter to Portugal, the first step in an infringement procedure, which now has two months to "respond and correct the shortcomings identified by the Commission".

The European Commission today opened proceedings against Portugal for failing to guarantee legal aid for suspects and defendants as stipulated in European legislation, specifically by restricting it in the case of foreigners without a valid residence permit.

Approximately 10,000 cards were returned by the Post Office after attempted delivery to immigrants.

Four branches of the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) will be open on Saturdays this month to deliver residence permits returned by the Post Office. Immigrants with pending documents will be contacted by email .

Lisbon May 26, 2026 — A new European Union directive concerning residence and work permits has officially entered into force, but experts say it does not automatically allow immigrants living in Portugal to freely move and work in another EU country. 

The new legislation — Directive (EU) 2024/1233 — aims to simplify administrative procedures, reduce bureaucracy, and strengthen rights for non-EU citizens legally residing in the European Union. However, each EU member state will still retain control over who can live and work within its territory.