According to the data released by Aima, the number of foreigners in Portugal has increased to one million. According to the report, in the last year 2023, the number of immigrants has increased by 33.6% compared to 2022. The largest number of immigrants living in Portugal are Brazilians.
The Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) publishes this Tuesday, September 17, the Migration and Asylum Report 2023. The RMA is an essential instrument for characterizing migration dynamics and processes in Portugal , aiming to present the quantitative and qualitative aspects of AIMA's contribution to the pursuit of public policies on migration and asylum.
«The publication of this Report represents the effort and demonstration of commitment to transparency and the provision of data […], contributing with relevant, synthetic, but assertive information to society in general and to the design of public migration policy in Portugal», highlights the President of the Board of Directors of AIMA , Pedro Portugal Gaspar, in the opening message of RMA 2023.
Only 13% of immigrants used the expression of interest to regularize their status
Only 13% of immigrants used the expression of interest to regularize their status
In 2023, almost 329 thousand residence permits were granted, but the overwhelming majority were under the new CPLP visa. Brazilian citizens account for 70% of these.Only 13% of immigrants used the expression of interest to regularize their status. Although the end of the expression of interest was one of the PSD government's main goals to control “irregular” immigration, this route only accounted for around 13% of the residence permits granted to foreigners last year. In June, in a flash, the government announced the end of this method of regularizing foreigners who were already working and paying into Social Security, considering that it allowed entry “without rules”.
Only 13% of immigrants used the expression of interest to regularize their status
The overwhelming majority of residence permits were granted under the new CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries) visa, which represented almost 150 thousand visas, or 45% of the total. Of these visas, Brazilian citizens were the ones who received the most CPLP visas - 108 thousand, or more than 70%.
According to the Report, in 2023, for the eighth consecutive year, there was an increase in the resident foreign population , with an increase of 33.6% compared to 2022, totaling 1,044,606 foreign citizens holding a Residence Permit. Brazilian nationality remains the largest resident foreign community , representing 35.3% of the total, with 368,449 residents.
In the same sense, the granting of residence permits shows a substantial increase compared to previous years , totaling 328,978, with emphasis on the Residence Permit for citizens of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (AR CPLP).
During 2023, a total of 303,105 appointments were scheduled , of which approximately 12.5% were not carried out due to non-attendance or cancellation by the applicants. In the same period, 697,986 calls were answered , 126,359 appointments were made via the Contact Center and 84,760 appointments were made online.
In the year in question, requests for International Protection increased by 35.3% , compared to 2022, totaling 2,693, which include those relating to the relocation mechanism within the scope of national commitments assumed with the European Union (EU).
By the end of 2023, Portugal had granted temporary protection to 54,342 citizens , of which 46,823 were of Ukrainian nationality.
The Migration and Asylum Report (RMA) does not include information on borders as this is a matter outside the legal competences of AIMA.