Foreigners in Portugal: fewer enter, many more leave

Immigrant arrivals fell by 35%, departures doubled in two years. And, this year, the trend is for an evident decline upon arrival.

Immigration became a daily topic in Portugal. With numbers that justify this change.

Looking at recent history, in 2022 alone, almost 237 thousand foreign workers entered Portugal; the following year, even more so: almost 250 thousand immigrant workers arriving.

Last year, the trend reversed and 189 thousand foreign workers entered Portugal.

Em 2025, and according to this month’s Economic Bulletin from the Bank of Portugal, the is left over it will really be pique: for now, there are no more than 95 thousand immigrants arriving. It’s half of last year (but the data only goes up to August, for now).

Looking at already closed data, cited by , in the second half of 2024 more than 7 thousand foreigners entered per month; and a year earlier more than twice as many had entered, more than 16 thousand.

“The indicator based on Social Security records suggests a reduction in the migration balance of individuals of foreign nationality after the maximum recorded in May 2023“, reads the Banco de Portugal analysis, which is based on administrative Social Security records.

And there is another obvious fact: the number of foreigners who are leaving Portugal.

In Social Security records, the number of foreigners leaving has been increasing since 2017. Year after year, more and more foreigners left Portugal, regardless of the flow of arrivals.

A recent comparison: in 2022 almost 23 thousand foreigners left Portugal; node last year 45 thousand came out. It’s practically the double the number of exits in just two years.

Looking a little further back, when 12 thousand people left in 2019, the number of departures practically quadrupled – also taking into account that many more foreigners entered during this period, especially in 2022 and 2023.

According to the analysis, Portugal is losing its ability to attract and retain foreign citizens – and at a time when the Portuguese economy depends increasingly on immigrants.