Portugal’s Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) has issued rejection notices to 4,574 migrants. This comes as the government plans to reject tens of thousands more migrants, just days before the upcoming elections.
The center-right Democratic Alliance, led by current Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, has pledged to tighten immigration policies. The coalition’s campaign included proposals to make naturalization more restrictive and to expand the deportation of irregular migrants. These measures drew sharp criticism from left-wing parties that accused the alliance of exploiting the migration issue for electoral gain—particularly because the coalition includes the far-right CHEGA party. Critics also claimed that the government’s announcement on deportations was a distraction from Portugal’s economic contraction of 0.5%.
The government defended its immigration plan, with the Prime Minister criticizing the previous Socialist government’s “show of interest” policy. This policy permitted migrants to enter the country on tourist visas and start the process of obtaining residency in Portugal. Montenegro pointed out that, for most migrants, the ultimate goal is to relocate and live in another European country after securing Portuguese residency.
After winning the 2024 parliamentary elections, the Democratic Alliance government abolished the “show of interest” policy. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro argued that the policy had led to a flood of residency applications that overwhelmed the former border agency. The newly established Migration Agency is now tasked with identifying individuals who do not qualify for residency—either due to a criminal record in their country of origin or because their asylum applications were previously rejected in another European country.
This week, the Migration Agency will send notices to 4,574 migrants requesting that they leave the country. Those who do not leave voluntarily will face expulsion. Additionally, the agency plans to send notices to another 13,500 migrants in the coming weeks.
According to António Leitão Amaro, Minister of the Presidency, the government is preparing to expand the issuance of departure notices to more than 110,000 migrants. In total, 170,000 migrants may be asked to leave the country for failing to pay the required fees for obtaining residence permits. Amaro also stated that 75% of those who received departure notices are from the Indian subcontinent, while only 2.5% are from Brazil and 7.5% from Portuguese-speaking African countries.
Civil society organizations supporting migrants have rejected the government’s decision. “Expulsion is not the solution,” Migrant Solidarity wrote in a message on social media. “There are solutions, and the government knows them. We will always fight—strength, friends—resist forever.” Meanwhile, the organization SOS Racismo called for greater support for migrants’ human rights.
