Portugal News

"While there's a serious debate going on about fires, MP André Ventura slipped away and is out there provoking immigrants in Portugal. This is a disgrace," said the PSD parliamentary leader.

The parliamentary leader of the PSD today accused the president of Chega of being an "incendiary", after André Ventura left the Assembly of the Republic's hemicycle to go to an immigrant demonstration in front of Parliament.

Hundreds of people in Portugal demonstrated this Wednesday in Lisbon, outside the Assembly of the Republic, demanding "documents for everyone." This is a protest against the government's immigration policy, organized by the association Solidariedade Imigrante. Timóteo Macedo, its president, claims that police authorities, on the same day, also carried out raids on foreign communities in areas of the Alentejo region, in the south, which have a large concentration of immigrant labor.

A new report revealed on 17 September 2025 that resident foreigners in Portugal obtain Portuguese citizenship at significantly lower rates than the European Union average. The findings point to barriers such as long legal residency requirements, integration tests, bureaucratic delays, and perhaps limited awareness of the naturalisation path. These obstacles often disproportionately affect immigrants who are already contributing socially and economically.

Today, 17 September 2025, immigrant workers from Lisbon, Porto, Odemira, and the Algarve are gathering at 2:00 PM outside the Assembleia da República. They intend to hand a formal petition to Parliament as legislators reopen debate on the Foreigners’ Law and the Nationality Law — both recently sent back from constitutional scrutiny. 

The Portuguese government has notified 10,000 immigrants to voluntarily abandon their homes and proposed speeding up expulsions in Parliament this fall.

Portugal's center-right Democratic Alliance government has announced a new plan to accelerate immigrant expulsions . Minister of the Presidency António Leitão Amaro revealed that the proposal will be presented to Parliament this fall, following a previous attempt that was vetoed as unconstitutional and faced opposition resistance.

Portugal’s Assembly will resume the nationality-law overhaul in the third week of September, after parties agreed before summer to prolong hearings and expert testimony. Lawmakers face a pivotal choice: balance system fixes with the Constitution’s guarantees of equality, family unity, and legal certainty. 

Government reconsiders restrictions on family reunification amid immigrant protests and political pressure in Parliament

Under pressure from President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa's veto and immigrant opposition, the center-right Democratic Alliance (AD) government is signaling a retreat from its anti-immigration package. The bill, which had already received a negative ruling from the Constitutional Court, has been resubmitted to Parliament, where the AD lacks a majority.

President of AIMA, Pedro Portugal Gaspar, was called to the Constitutional Affairs Commission of Parliament to talk about the modifications in the Nationality Law, but answered few questions.

Immigrants from Algarve, Odemira, Lisbon and Porto are expected for the day when the debates in the Assembly of the Republic on immigration and nationality are resumed.

Immigrants working in Porto, Lisbon, Odemira and Algarve scheduled a demonstration on September 17 in front of the Assembly of the Republic at a time when there are 80 detainees in a temporary installation center in Portugal.

In talks with deputies, representatives of the Executive say that an anti-immigration package will be relaxed. Discussion on the Nationality Law will be for October.