Portugal is among the ten countries with the best integration policies for migrants, according to a 52-state assessment that highlights the fight against discrimination or family reunification as strengths.
According to the Migrant Integration Policies Index (MIPEX), with data for 2019 and presented on Wednesday at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Portugal has improved migrant integration policies in recent years, especially in health and education, which earned it 81 points out of 100.
“Portugal has consistently improved since the first edition of MIPEX [in 2005] and specifically in the general assessment it has improved three points between 2014 and 2019,” the report said, adding that “Portuguese integration policies have slightly improved in all dimensions of equal rights, opportunities and security for immigrants.
According to the results of MIPEX2020 for 2019, Portugal is “one of the top ten countries”, alongside the Nordic countries and countries that are traditionally immigrants’ destinations and “leads specifically among the new destination countries, far ahead of countries like Italy or Spain”.
“In comparison with all other developed countries, Portugal’s integration policies in 2019 were above average in all policy areas except access to health”, the report reads.
The document added that it is the fact that the country has comprehensive integration policies that give it a high ranking in MIPEX, underlining that among the top 10 countries “integration works as a two-way process, as citizens and immigrants generally enjoy equal rights, opportunities and levels of security”.
In terms of anti-discrimination, Portugal achieves a maximum of 100 points, and is highlighted by its “strong policies” and enforcement mechanisms that “are slowly raising levels of public awareness”, despite being “recent and under-resourced laws compared to the usual destination countries”.
It achieved 94 points on labour market mobility where it comes “first, alongside Germany and the Nordic countries” for ensuring “equal treatment and specific support for both Portuguese and non-European citizens”.
“In the long term, these policies are linked to fairer outcomes in the labour market, as immigrants benefit from better jobs, qualifications and public acceptance”, says MIPEX2020.
On citizenship issues, on the other hand, Portugal scored 86 points, 13 more than in the 2014 index, standing out for its ‘world-leading model of citizenship’, which has been strengthened both for immigrants and for Portuguese descendants.
“Portugal has also begun to address its small areas of fragility, such as migrants’ health and education: the health system is improving access to care and information, while the education system is better supporting diversity at school,” the report points out, underlining that future improvements can further raise the level of information and interaction between immigrants and society.
Family reunification has got 87 points, with Portugal being singled out as one of the world’s most reunification-friendly policies, alongside Canada and Brazil.
According to MIPEX, this integrated approach to immigration matters because “the way governments treat immigrants greatly influences how immigrants and the rest of society interact and think about each other”.
“For public opinion, ensuring equal rights, opportunities and security encourages the public to see integration as an opportunity and to treat immigrants as equals, neighbours and potential citizens. In the context of inclusive policies such as Portugal’s, both immigrants and the public are more likely to interact and feel at ease with each other as equals”, the document stresses.
MIPEX is the work of the Migration Policy Group (MPG) in partnership with the Barcelona Centre for International Relations and is co-financed by the European Commission.
