According to the Migration and Asylum Report 2024, released today, at the end of December 2024, there were 1,543,697 foreign citizens living in Portugal, down from the estimates made in April. Compared to the end of 2017, when 421,802 foreign citizens lived in Portugal, the number has almost quadrupled.
The overwhelming majority (71%) have a residence permit, and 286,302 citizens have already been assisted by the Mission Structure for the Recovery of Pending Cases at AIMA, in relation to pending expressions of interest and who were waiting to obtain a residence permit.
The document also mentions 61,242 beneficiaries of temporary protection, 7,517 with expired CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries) residence permits who have already been attended to by the Mission Structure, and 125 people acknowledged in national territory under long-term visas who have expressed their intention to stay longer in national territory.
“Brazilian nationality continues to be the main foreign resident community, accounting for 31.4% of the total,” adds the report.
Last year, Indian nationality became the second most represented (7.4%), followed by Angolan (6.9%) and Ukrainian (5.9%). In terms of regional groups, the biggest increases occurred among citizens of CPLP countries, the Indian subcontinent, and Europe.
The immigrant population in Portugal is mainly composed of adults of working age, especially those aged 18 to 44 (77%), and the majority are men (56.1%).
“The geographical distribution of the foreign population is mainly on the coast, with the districts of Lisbon, Faro, Setúbal and Porto standing out with a population of 1,100,670 (71.3%),” he adds.
By the end of the year, 218,332 residence permits had been issued, 34% fewer than in 2023, an atypical year due to the automatic conversion of expressions of interest into CPLP residence permits.
The report stresses that the data essentially reflects AIMA’s response capacity, and it is expected that, as a result of the work carried out by the Mission Structure, 2025 will record ‘significant figures’ corresponding to entry flows before 2 June 2024, resulting from the expression of interest regime.
Residence permits for professional activity and for citizens of the CPLP accounted for 56.3% of the new residence permits granted, while 2,081 were for investment, mostly for citizens from the United States, China and Russia.
By the end of the year, 218,332 residence permits had been issued, 34% fewer than in 2023, an atypical year due to the automatic conversion of expressions of interest into CPLP residence permits.
There were 2,677 applications for international protection, and applicants from the African continent accounted for 58.2%, in particular Senegal, Gambia and Angola, with 1,244 provisional residence permits or refugee and subsidiary protection status being granted.
The report also states that, under international humanitarian response commitments, Portugal welcomed 46 citizens seeking international protection from Somalia, Guinea-Conakry, Libya, Ethiopia, and six from other countries, as well as 152 Afghan citizens under the Portugal Humanitarian Admission, who were evacuated following the coup d’état in August 2021.
The number of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum increased by 151.9% compared to the previous year, to 204, more than half from Gambia.
In its final report, AIMA revises upwards the number of foreign citizens in Portugal in 2023, from 1,044,606 to 1,304,833, as a result of the work carried out by the Mission Structure.
Platform with Lusa
