Latest news and stories about residency status in legal in Portugal for expats and residents.
A critique of the Portuguese administrative system following the deportation of a high-achieving foreign student whose residency status remained unresolved for two years, highlighting the failure of state institutions to uphold human dignity and administrative efficiency.
The Annual Internal Security Report reveals a significant surge in immigration enforcement, with approximately 23,000 individuals notified to voluntarily leave Portugal in 2025, marking a sharp increase from the 444 notifications recorded in 2024.
The GNR arrested 459 foreigners between October 2023 and August of this year. During that period, more than 103,000 people were inspected and about 1,000 notifications for voluntary departure from national territory were issued. Captain Joana Machado, from the GNR's Communication and Public Relations Division, helps us decode these figures.
UNEF states that a group of people who were notified to leave Portugal for being in an irregular situation continue to reside in the country.
Inspections resulted in 831 notifications for voluntary departure from the national territory and 285 arrests for irregular stay.
The defence claims that the delay by AIMA ultimately prevented the young man from regularising his status in Portugal
In total, more than 6,500 administrative offences have been issued by the GNR in nearly three years
In the same period, 540 people were notified to leave the country voluntarily.
A young individual lacking legal residency documentation was arrested in the Baixa district of Coimbra.
These PSP operations represent the new powers regarding air border control and the monitoring of foreign citizens' residency status within national territory.
Approximately 23,000 immigrants were notified to voluntarily leave Portugal last year, an exponential increase compared to 2024, when 444 notifications were recorded, reveals the Annual Internal Security Report (RASI) today.
Government legislative proposal aims to accelerate procedures for the removal of foreigners in an irregular situation.
Minister of the Presidency calls for “consequences” for “those who prefer illegality”
António Leitão Amaro considered the law establishing the new return regime for foreign citizens in an illegal situation to be “very necessary.”
The suspect entered the country about three years ago, currently has his residency status regularised, and was working for a company in Cascais.
A reader seeks legal advice after arriving as a student but not completing their studies and now working in the country; they ask what options or steps they should take.
