Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro praised the “impeccable integration” of the Brazilian community in Portugal on Tuesday, highlighting that more than 200,000 citizens from the South American country have been regularized over the last two years, with less than 5% of applications being rejected.
Montenegro spoke alongside Brazilian President Lula da Silva after a meeting lasting approximately one hour at the official residence of the Portuguese Prime Minister.
“In Portugal, over the last two years, the Government has regularized more than 235,000 cases of Brazilian immigrants. When we arrived in government, they did not have valid documents, and today they are regularized, compliant, and possess full citizenship,” he stated.
According to Montenegro, out of more than 400,000 pending cases, there were only about 5,000 instances where the final decision was to reject applications from Brazilian citizens, representing “a rate of less than 5%.”
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The Prime Minister addressed recent media coverage, stating, “Sometimes the media highlights one episode or another, or even distorts a relationship that has gone very well globally.” He pointed to the approximately 500,000 Brazilian citizens currently living in Portugal, which constitutes the largest foreign community in the country.
Montenegro emphasized that the majority of this community has had “an absolutely impeccable social and economic integration,” downplaying some specific “focuses of disturbance” that he noted occur within any community, including the Portuguese national one.
“Overall, everything we have done, even in the last two years regarding the implementation of more regulated migration flow mechanisms, has been with the intention and goal of valuing people, their dignity, and the humanistic capacity with which Portugal welcomes those who come here to work and find well-being,” he affirmed.
Montenegro praised the Brazilian community as an example of an “extraordinary connection,” citing the shared language and the overlapping culture, references, and national values. “We want to continue to deepen this flow,” he assured.
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The Prime Minister also noted that Portugal maintains an “intense exchange of information and opinion regarding the major issues concerning the defense of peace and stability at an international level” with Brazil.
“We also discuss the need to have an active voice in the multilateral context, within the United Nations, in a year where our candidacy for the Security Council for the 2027-2028 biennium will be decided, which counts on the support of Brazil—which we want to thank here—both directly and within its regional and global sphere of influence, but also the support of our community of Portuguese-speaking countries,” he stressed.
Montenegro welcomed the opportunity to host Lula da Silva in Portugal, noting that they have met three times since he became Prime Minister: in 2024, when Portugal was invited to participate in the G20 meeting hosted by Brazil; last year, when the two countries held a bilateral summit in Brasília; and again at the end of the year during COP30 in Belém do Pará.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva arrived in Lisbon on Tuesday morning for meetings with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and the President of the Republic, António José Seguro, to discuss topics including immigration, xenophobia, and aeronautics.
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The private meeting between Luís Montenegro and Lula da Silva began around 1:15 PM, delayed by an hour and a half from the original schedule, occurring simultaneously with discussions between the ministerial delegations of both countries.
The Portuguese delegation included the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel; the Minister of Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento; the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro; the Minister of Economy, Manuel Castro Almeida; the Minister of Education, Fernando Alexandre; and the Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho.
