According to MIPEX 2025, Portuguese legislation, until mid-2024, was one of the most favourable to immigrant integration, alongside Sweden and Finland.

In 2024, the PSD/CDS government eliminated the expression of interest, a legal recourse that allowed those who had entered with a tourist visa to regularise their status in Portugal. The large influx of immigrants delayed family reunification processes, whose rules the government intends to further tighten with the new foreigners' law, which will be reconsidered on Tuesday, after being rejected by the Constitutional Court in August.

Portugal stands out in access to the job market, family reunification, and access to nationality, where it occupies a favourable and differentiated position compared to most European Union countries.

Persistent problems

However, problems persist in areas such as "education and healthcare, where barriers to effective access to adequate resources still exist," the report states.

"Portugal demonstrates its ability to implement integration policies, but the MIPEX results remind us that we cannot take anything for granted," and "the next step should be to strengthen integration and avoid legislative setbacks that compromise inclusion and social cohesion," says Lucinda Fonseca, from the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning at the University of Lisbon, who collaborated on the project.

For the team of Portuguese experts, "if the legislative changes currently under discussion are approved, Portugal's position in MIPEX will likely deteriorate," and "more restrictive rules for access to nationality and family reunification would represent a clear setback, with a direct impact on the stability and sense of belonging of many thousands of people."

Lucinda Fonseca emphasises that "effective integration policies not only benefit immigrants," but also "strengthen social cohesion, increase trust in institutions, and contribute to the country's demographic sustainability and economic development."

According to the index, "inclusive and well-implemented integration policies improve educational and employment outcomes and reduce prejudice" against immigrants.

"Restrictive approaches," especially regarding "citizenship, family reunification, and political participation," weaken "democratic inclusion and social cohesion."

Recommendations

In their recommendations, the authors argue that Portugal should "invest more in integration, particularly in the teaching of Portuguese as a non-native language, in the provision of adequate resources in schools, and in socio-cultural mediation, consolidating progress and preparing a more cohesive, fair, and inclusive future."

The MIPEX, produced by the European think tank Migration Policy Group, assesses 58 indicators in areas such as the labor market, family reunification, education, political participation, permanent residence, nationality, anti-discrimination, and health.

In this assessment, Portugal scores 83 out of a possible 100 points, while the overall EU average is 54, indicating a "general stagnation of integration policies" in Europe.

Countries that joined the EU after 2004 have more restrictive policies toward immigrants (average of 44 points) than the others (average of 63).

On the positive side, the authors highlight the existence of a strong legal framework regarding anti-discrimination, as well as "moderately secure permanent residence" policies and positive "integration into the labor market."

On the more negative side, Mipex points to increasing difficulties in accessing nationality and "still underdeveloped" education policies.