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Immigration

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

The departures concourse at Lisbon Humberto Delgado airport, with overhead signs reading partidas, departures and terminal 2

Portugal Has 130 Places to Hold the People It Plans to Remove, and the PSP Wants 306 by Late 2027

The head of the national foreigners and borders unit told Lusa the estate meets Portugal's obligations today. The return law that came into force on Friday lets people be held in it for up to 360 days.

The Portugal Brief 13 Sep 2026

The counter hall of a Loja de Cidadao public-service centre in Lisbon, with numbered positions, staff behind desks and floor markers telling people where to wait their turn.

AIMA's First-Half Scorecard Is Four Percentages Deep, and the Single Absolute Figure It Publishes Is the Number of Compliments

The agency says appointments at its shops grew more than 60 percent in the first half of 2026 and complaints fell 35.8 percent. The three percentages are mutually consistent and imply a rise of about 64 percent. None of them says how many appointments were actually held.

The Portugal Brief 11 Sep 2026

A coast guard cutter in Frontex livery tied up at the port of Crotone in Italy, with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency mark on its superstructure

Frontex Counted 75,000 Irregular Crossings Into the EU by the End of August, 35 Percent Down on Last Year, and Only the Western Mediterranean Grew

The agency published its preliminary January to August figures on Friday. Three of the four main routes fell, the Atlantic route towards the Canaries fell furthest, and the count deliberately leaves out July's mass crossing into Ceuta.

The Portugal Brief 11 Sep 2026

The glass towers of the Campus de Justica in Lisbon's Parque das Nacoes under an overcast sky, seen from the road

The Rato Police Trial Began on Friday With Thirty-Six Charges Against Two Officers, and the Indictment Says Most Victims Were Foreign or Homeless

The main defendant faces 29 charges including six of torture and five of rape; the second faces seven. Prosecutors say images of the abuse were shared in WhatsApp groups with dozens of other PSP officers.

The Portugal Brief 11 Sep 2026

The concourse of Terminal 1 at Lisbon Airport, with Portuguese overhead signage for saida and recolha de bagagem and passengers waiting with suitcases along the windows

Brussels Finished Its Border-Data Bargain With Washington on Thursday, and What Portugal Actually Hands Over Will Be Settled in a Separate Deal

The Enhanced Border Security Partnership framework is the price the United States set in 2022 for continued visa-free travel. It still needs European Parliament consent, and the exchanges themselves will be bilateral.

The Portugal Brief 10 Sep 2026

The Terminal 2 check-in hall at Lisbon's Humberto Delgado airport, with a Bem-vindo and Welcome stand beside queue barriers

Portugal's Screening Centres and Twelve-Week Border Returns Become Law on Friday, and a Work Permit Holder Can Now Change Employer With a Notification

Lei n.º 62/2026 was published on Thursday and takes effect on Friday. It writes screening into Portuguese law with a seven-day border clock, caps border return at 12 weeks and replaces the voluntary departure notice with a duty to leave.

The Portugal Brief 10 Sep 2026

A TAP Air Portugal Airbus A320neo taxiing at London Heathrow, with British Airways aircraft and airport buildings in the background

Britain Granted 692 Work Visas to Portuguese Nationals in the Year to June, Half the 2023 Total and Fewer Than It Granted for Study

Home Office data shows Skilled Worker grants to Portuguese nationals down 61 percent and Health and Care Worker grants down 77 percent in three years, while refusals fell and study visas held up.

The Portugal Brief 08 Sep 2026

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