LISBON – The authorities in Portugal have repealed a key migration policy on Monday as the country aims to limit the number of new arrivals.
The country had introduced a policy under which non-EU migrants were allowed to move to Portugal without an employment contract and later request residency after paying social security for a year.
A fresh development in this regard is that the policy has been revoked and from now on migrants will need an employment contract before moving to Portugal.
Portugal boasts one of Europe’s most open immigration regimes which attracted immigrants as well as billionaires through the Golden Visa; however, recent months have seen the policies being tilted towards the right wing.
Commenting on the migration, newly-elected Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said he wanted to “put an end to… excessive abuse” of its welcome for migrants.
As far as the statistics are concerned, Portugal’s foreign population has doubled in five years as the country attracts people from Asia to work on farms and in restaurants.
The government data implies that the overseas arrivals now make up one million people and just last year, 180,000 migrants were regularized.
The Portuguese premier highlighted that there are currently around 400,000 regularization applications still pending, adding that the country needs people willing to build a fairer and more prosperous society.
“But we cannot go to the other extreme and have wide-open doors,” he warned.
The decision to revoke a key policy initiative regarding migration comes days before millions of Europeans vote for their representatives in the European Parliament. Surprisingly, the decision comes days after Germany introduced the opportunity card or ‘Chancenkarte’ which allows foreigners to land in the country without any job and then search for employment.
