With its warm climate, comparatively affordable living and rich culture, Portugal has long appealed to visitors, whether it’s for a vacation or a more permanent move.
The southwestern European country was a top destination for migrants, thanks to its formerly liberal immigration policies and what was considered a top model for integration. It was consistently ranked in the Top 10 destination countries by the Migrant Integration Policy Institute’s ranking system, which noted the benefits of Portugal’s labour market and citizenship model, among other inviting qualities.
And people of all economic backgrounds have flocked to Portugal — from migrants seeking work and digital nomads taking advantage of an affordable location, to the sunset migration of retirees. Last year, the European Commission’s department of migration and home affairs reported that more than one million foreign citizens lived in Portugal — the highest ever recorded in the country — accounting for about 10 per cent of the population.
So, the news last Saturday that Portugal’s caretaker government plans to expel some 18,000 undocumented foreigners living in the country without authorization may seem like a sudden shift, with Prime Minister Luis Montenegro accused by critics of taking a page from U.S. President Donald Trump’s playbook.
Montenegro didn’t give a specific reason for the decision, but last year, when he toughened the country’s migration laws, he said Portugal can’t “have wide-open doors” and was prioritizing entry to qualified professionals, students, those from Portuguese-speaking countries and people seeking family reunion.
Portugal has been “sliding on a slippery slope for the past two years,” driven in part by a rise in housing costs, where migration has become politicized and polarized by the far right, explained Anna Triandafyllidou, the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University.
“Portugal, unlike other southern European countries, was very welcoming in terms of ethnic and racial density. Suddenly these people were targeted because they were visible,” Triandafyllidou told CBC News.
Still, she added, the government’s plans to expel foreigners is “sort of unheard of for Portugal.”
“This kind of rounding up and deporting people — it’s very extreme.”
A ‘silent’ migration
Portugal is distinct from other southern European countries by maintaining its post-colonial ties, resulting in a migrant population that’s racially mixed but with language and cultural commonalities, explained Triandafyllidou.
Most migration to Portugal has traditionally flowed from Portuguese-speaking countries, such as Brazil, Cape Verde and Angola, according to the Integral Human Development website.
In addition to that, there has been a “silent” migration of undocumented workers from South Asian countries, lured by the chance to obtain legal status in the EU, publications such as Foreign Policy magazine and Agence France Press have reported.
Under the previous Socialist government, Portugal had some of Europe’s most open immigration policies.
Until 2024, when Portugal’s centre-right government toughened some immigration rules, a widely used mechanism called “manifestation of interest” allowed non-EU migrants without an employment contract to move to Portugal and request residency after paying social security for a year.
Triandafyllidou noted that she’s observed more of a South Asian presence in Lisbon, the country’s capital city, particularly working in restaurants and food delivery services. Foreign Policy writes that in Lisbon: “Nepalis staff restaurant kitchens and Bangladeshis run many of the city’s fruit shops.”
And AFP says that, even in the most traditional fishing villages near Porto, “half of the crews are made up of Indonesians.”
In a 2023 report, the Migration Observatory said some sectors would collapse without foreign workers. Still, according to the European Commission’s most recent immigration barometer, 68 per cent of Portuguese citizens consider immigration policy in Portugal to be too permissive.
‘Affordable living’ … for some
Meanwhile, Portugal has had a number of deliberate policies aimed at attracting wealthy foreign investment. These include the “golden visa” program that for years had linked residency rights to property investments, tax breaks offered by the state and the digital nomad visa for remote workers.
Last month, International Living magazine’s Annual Global Retirement Index named Portugal No. 2 on its 2025 list of top countries to retire in, just behind Panama. The index cited Portugal’s “affordable living” repeatedly, noting that “a couple can live comfortably” on $3,480 to $4,200 Cdn a month.
Property sales in the Algarve, the popular beach-lined southern tip of the country, are soaring. Even the Aga Khan, considered one of the richest men in the world, moved to Lisbon in 2015, where he lived until his death in February.
But this arrival of wealthy foreigners also aggravated a housing crisis rooted in a chronic shortage of affordable housing. Rents in Lisbon have soared 94 per cent since 2015 and house prices have risen 186 per cent, as reported by Reuters.
This prices out both locals and, especially, migrants from non-EU countries. Migration Observatory data showed 19 per cent of people who originated from outside the European Union in Portugal live in overcrowded accommodation compared to around eight per cent of Portuguese, citing that people from countries such as Nepal and Bangladesh are particularly affected.
Portugal remains one of western Europe’s poorest nations with the region’s lowest average wages.
“There are two extremes: migrants who are so-called poor … and a ‘rich’ migration of investors, pensioners and highly qualified professionals,” housing researcher Simone Tulumello told Reuters last year.
Migration politicized
The streets in Lisbon are often filled with marches and rallies — for affordable housing, for migrant rights and to protest against more people crossing borders. Last month, Portuguese riot police detained several ultra-right protesters after groups had called a rally, which city authorities banned, to protest against growing numbers of immigrants.
And on May 18, the country will have an early general election. Montenegro called the snap ballot in March after his minority government lost a confidence vote in parliament and stood down.
In last year’s election, the far-right Chega party surged into third place.
In his new campaign platform, Chega leader André Ventura has decried what he calls “a total lack of control at our borders,” writing in Portuguese that “it is urgent to restore normality to the flow of foreigners entering Portugal.”
Among its immigration priorities, Chega wants nationality granted only to those who “have an effective relationship with the Portuguese state, speak the language, know the history and embrace the culture.” And those who do enter illegally should be returned to their country of origin, Ventura adds.
“I think what we’re seeing in Portugal is very much cheap politicization in view of an election,” said Triandafyllidou.
“In Europe, the fear of the far right is pushing these conservative governments toward sort of extreme solutions to try to win the votes back — which doesn’t happen.”
‘Expulsion is not a solution!’
After Montenegro’s government announced its expulsion plan last Saturday, the leader of the Opposition accused him of trying to get closer to the Chega party. He called the move a “Trumpization” of Montenegro’s campaign, a reference to U.S. President Donald Trump’s border crackdowns.
In January, Ventura — who travelled to Washington for Trump’s inauguration — said he agreed with Trump’s announcement that he planned to deport millions of illegal immigrants, adding that “safe countries have strong borders,” reported The Portugal News.
Montenegro, for his part, has denied that the expulsion order was being accelerated by the upcoming May 18 election and said it was part of the process that began in June last year. He also refuted the allusion to Trump, according to the Portugal Pulse news site.
But as the expulsion orders have started going out, with some 4,500 people already notified they have 20 days until they have to leave, according to media reports, some immigrant associations have urged people to “fight” and “resist.”
“Expulsion is not a solution!” wrote the Solidariedade Imigrante (Immigrant Solidarity) non-profit on its Facebook page last week.
“We will always fight! Strength, friends! Always resist!”
