Portugal News

Catarina Martins spoke again about the problem of immigrants, this time to argue that Portugal must ensure "public services for the entire population".

The MEP for the Left Bloc (BE) Catarina Martins argued, on Tuesday night, on the Linhas Vermelhas program, on SIC Notícias , that "Portugal must know how to have the public services it needs for the entire population", in yet another comment on the problem of migrants in our country.

Agency for Migration has trained all people who work in the 20 mission centers to serve immigrants who will exchange printed bonds on A4 sheet of paper for plastic cards.

Between 2021 and 2024, foreigners living in Portugal contributed 9.88 billion euros. Brazil is at the top of the list of contributors. It is the largest immigrant community in the country and in the last four years there have been more than 3 billion euros in discounts. 

Over the last four years, Angolan, Indian and Nepalese immigrants have tripled the amount of their social security contributions. Brazilians are the ones who have contributed the most , with a value of over 3 billion euros.

The Lisbon Administrative Court ended 2024 with 46,824 pending immigration and asylum cases, 80 times more than in 2023. The increase is due to the extinction of SEF and the creation of AIMA.

The Lisbon District Administrative Court closed 2024 with 46,824 pending immigration and asylum cases, a number 80 times higher than in 2023 and which runs counter to the general trend of decreasing pending cases in the territorial area it covers.

The call has not yet started. The project has not even been approved by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

Misinformation is circulating on Instagram that immigrants with a title from the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) have started to be called by the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA). One of the posts with the fake news has reached thousands of people.

The “Training and Integration Programme for Migrants and Beneficiaries of International Protection in the Tourism Sector ” saw strong participation, with 5,378 applications and 1,299 places made available by 329 companies. Initially planned for a thousand participants, the programme was expanded to accommodate all registered interns, as part of the government’s “Accelerating the Economy” programme.

A very important program launched by Portugal helps migrants to obtain job and training opportunities

The Portuguese government recently announced the launch of the Integrar Program , an initiative aimed at assisting foreigners who have moved to the country in search of new job opportunities.

AIMA gives less than 24 hours for immigrants to attend service and away from home
With such short deadlines, requiring long displacement, many immigrants are not able to answer the agency’s calls with all the organized documentation. The risk of being rejected is great.

Within the foreign population, Brazilians represent the largest group. They account for over 37%, followed by citizens of India, with just over 6.5%, and Nepal, with 4.3%. Cape Verde and Angola are also on the list, with less than 4%.

Immigrants are increasingly paying into Social Security . In 2024, they contributed five times more than they received. In the last three years, the amount they paid into Social Security has doubled.

Organizations speak of the need to resolve migrants' problems, such as housing, and warn of the "increase in hate speech and anti-immigration."

In an open letter addressed to the ministers of the Presidency, Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs, 37 civil society organizations call for "dignified, fair and effective measures and policies for the reception, integration and inclusion of migrants".