has seen an exponential increase in arrivals in recent years, and the Brazilian community is by far the largest, with more than 480,000 official residents. However, the trend appears to be reversing and many are starting to leave the country.
In the last edition, the newspaper Expresso reported: “Immigrants are starting to leave Portugal to or return home. They are, in the majority, Brazilians.”
Official Portuguese statistics do not accurately capture immigrant departures, and those that exist are only available until 2024, but several sources – immigrant associations, support groups and lawyers – confirm the movement.
I spoke, for example, with the International Organization for Migration, the UN agency that supports returns to countries of origin outside of Brazil, and there is also an increase in requests to return to Brazil in 2025 and in the first four months of 2026.
The reasons are, in fact, easy to understand: it is clear that conditions in Portugal have deteriorated for foreigners in recent times.
It all starts with the drama of housing costs, which have been breaking records every year. House prices in Lisbon correspond to 116% of the average salary, which is more than 1600 euros (R$9433), while the minimum wage is 920 euros (R$5424). The Portuguese capital is actually the city in the EU where housing costs the most for families. Added to this, food and fuel are also more expensive.
On the other hand, with the center-right government and the support of the ultra-right, the environment became more hostile and the legislation became more rigid. The new law, which came into force in October 2025, tightened the rules for the entry and residence of immigrants, and the Nationality Law, now enacted, also increased deadlines and made family reunion and
All in all, for many Brazilians – and not only – it no longer pays to stay in Portugal. Nobody likes to stay where they don’t feel good. At the same time, interest is growing in Spain, next door, where the government is doing the opposite and has approved a regularization plan that could benefit around 500,000 undocumented immigrants, the majority of them Latin Americans.
But for Portugal, a country with almost full employment, where immigrants are essential labor in sectors such as tourism, restaurants, agriculture and construction, it could be problematic.
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