Portugal: Minister announces provisional legalisation of 246,000 migrants

The Portuguese administration minister said that 246,000 immigrants had been provisionally regularised in Portugal due to the Covid-19 pandemic and announced that more foreign citizens could benefit from this right.  

 In the discussion on Tuesday on the state budget for 2021, Eduardo Cabrita explained that the 246,000 foreign citizens who had been regularised were those who had cases pending with the Foreigners and Borders Service until 18 March, when it was decided to declare a state of emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The minister said the extension of these rights to those who arrived after 18 March in the face of the foreseeable higher restriction of rights, referring to the possible state of emergency that should be decreed again.

According to Eduardo Cabrita, immigrants will have the situation provisionally resolved by 31 March 2021.

He also said that the number of foreign citizens residing legally in Portugal continued to rise, totalling 634,000 by September, compared to 580,000 at the end of 2019.

Eduardo Cabrita stressed that the government considers the increase in foreign citizens in Portugal to be positive.

The minister also said that Portugal receives the fourth-highest number of unaccompanied minors, noting that last week 22 young people from refugee camps in Greece arrived in the country.