News article by Fernando Almeida Marques, Lawyer - International Atlantic Services

Explore Portugal's newly approved 2024 Migration Action Plan, focusing on regulated entry, enhanced integration, talent attraction, and institutional restructuring to optimize immigration policies.

In 2024, the Portuguese Government approved an ambitious Migration Action Plan aimed at changing the previous paradigm in order to optimize resources—both material and human—to address issues in entry rules, resolve the operational incapacity of the Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (AIMA), and ensure the functionality of border control systems. This plan not only seeks to regulate immigrant entry but also to promote a humanistic and efficient integration.

Based on demographic, social, and economic considerations, the plan advocates for regulated and monitored immigration, alongside a humanistic integration approach. Structured into four main axes, the plan addresses regulated immigration, attracting foreign talent, humanistic integration, and institutional reorganization.

Regarding regulated immigration, key measures include revising entry rules—particularly eliminating the Expression of Interest procedure—and establishing a task force to address over 400,000 pending cases, with the recruitment of 300 new staff members dedicated to this effort. Additionally, improvements to IT systems and border infrastructure are planned to alleviate congestion and delays. Portugal's commitment to the CPLP Mobility Agreement is reinforced, along with the development of a National Plan for the Implementation of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. National territory oversight will be intensified through a multi-force team to combat abuses such as human trafficking, illegal immigration, and labor exploitation.

To attract foreign talent, the plan aims to align with the country's needs by facilitating the recognition of qualifications and promoting professional training for foreign nationals. Efforts will also be made to attract international students to Portuguese higher education institutions.

In terms of humanistic integration, the plan includes expanding the capacity of reception centers and establishing new facilities for temporary housing of immigrants and refugees. It promotes the professional integration of immigrants into the national labor market and enhances the teaching of Portuguese as a Non-Mother Tongue, with multilingual materials. Access to the National Health Service will be facilitated, and the process of granting equivalencies in basic education will be streamlined.

Institutional reorganization is another critical aspect, involving the creation of a Foreigners and Borders Unit within the PSP and internal restructuring of AIMA, with enhanced human and technological resources. The plan decentralizes responsibilities, strengthening the role of municipalities and civil society, and reinstates the Migration Observatory as a state body to inform public policy.

Among more than 40 concrete measures of the plan, highlights include the establishment of municipal and intermunicipal emergency reception centers, abolishing the Expression of Interest procedure, and resolving pending immigration cases. This plan marks a decisive step in Portugal's migration policy, aiming to achieve more efficient and humanistic immigration management, reinforcing the country's role as a welcoming and inclusive destination.