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Immigration

Immigration policy, visa changes, and the expat experience in Portugal.

The triumphal Arco da Rua Augusta and the yellow arcaded buildings of Praca do Comercio in downtown Lisbon, with crowds and buses gathered in the square under a cloudy sky

Portugal Has Become Brazilian Business's Doorway Into Europe — but the Bureaucracy Still Tests Their Patience

Brazilians are now Portugal's largest foreign community, and a growing share come to build businesses. With the Mercosur-EU deal in force, Portugal is pitching itself as their gateway to Europe — backed by a €1bn fund — even as AIMA's permit backlog tests everyone's patience.

The Portugal Brief 05 Jul 2026

A Transavia aircraft boarding at Lisbon Airport with Portuguese ground crew

Portugal Stations 367 New PSP Officers at Its Airport Borders as Summer Arrivals Swell by 20,000 a Day

The PSP is putting 367 newly trained officers on airport passport control from July 7 — 170 in Lisbon alone — as Portugal handles 20,000 more daily passengers and the biometric Entry/Exit System slows non-Schengen queues.

The Portugal Brief 04 Jul 2026

Maroon Portuguese European Union passport cover with the national coat of arms embossed in gold

AIMA Opens July–August Residence Renewals and Issues Digital 'Proof of Legal Stay' Certificates While Tendering a €208,000 Portal Rebuild

Immigrants whose Portuguese permits expire in July or August can now renew online, while AIMA leans on digital certificates that prove a lawful, pending status — and tenders a ~€208,000 rebuild of its crash-prone portal. Here is what to file and what to keep.

The Portugal Brief 01 Jul 2026

Two construction workers in orange high-visibility vests on a building site with steel reinforcement bars, illustrating immigrant labour in Portugal

Foreign Workers Now Make Up Nearly One in Five Segurança Social Contributors as Portuguese Firms Lean Harder on Immigrant Labour

Foreign nationals crossed the one-million mark among Segurança Social contributors in 2025 and now account for almost 20% of the total — up from barely 5% a decade ago. Whole sectors, from agriculture to hospitality, increasingly depend on immigrant workers.

The Portugal Brief 29 Jun 2026

A mechanic inspecting the underside of a car on a ramp at a vehicle inspection centre

Importing and Legalising a Foreign Car in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the ISV, the Transfer-of-Residence Exemption, the DAV and Getting Your Matricula Nacional

A practical guide to legalising a foreign-registered car in Portugal: the ISV vehicle tax, the transfer-of-residence exemption, the DAV customs declaration, the Category B inspection and the real 2026 costs of getting Portuguese plates.

The Portugal Brief 27 Jun 2026

Cardboard moving boxes stacked in an empty room, illustrating a household move to Portugal

Moving Your Household Goods to Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the Certificado de Bagagem, the Transfer-of-Residence Customs Relief, and Shipping Your Belongings

Shipping your life to Portugal is two very different jobs depending on where you start. This guide covers the transfer-of-residence customs relief, the Certificado de Bagagem you request at the consulate, the document checklist, and how to ship a container without paying duty you do not owe.

The Portugal Brief 26 Jun 2026

Euro banknotes fanned out, illustrating golden-visa investment fund redemptions in Portugal

Golden-Visa Investors Pull €94.7 Million From Portuguese Funds in Five Months as the Citizenship Wait Resets to Ten Years

Investors are draining the funds that qualify for Portugal's golden visa, with about €94.7 million redeemed between January and May — roughly nine times last year's pace — after the new Nationality Law pushed the wait for citizenship from five years to as much as ten.

The Portugal Brief 26 Jun 2026

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