Portugal on Monday repealed a key migration policy aimed at limiting the number of new arrivals.
The changes end a rule that allowed non-EU migrants to settle in Portugal without a work contract and then apply for residency after paying social security contributions for a year.
From now on, migrants will need a work contract before settling in the country.
Portugal has one of the most open immigration regimes in Europe, but the country has seen a political shift to the right, with border restrictions a key issue.
The newly elected Prime Minister, Luis Montenegro, declared that he wanted to “put an end to excessive abuses” in terms of welcoming migrants.
How many migrants are there in Portugal?
Portugal’s foreign population has doubled in five years, with many people coming from Asia to work on farms and in restaurants.
Arrivals from abroad now number one million people, or around a tenth of the total population, according to government data.
Last year, 180,000 migrants were regularized.
Montenegro said there were currently around 400,000 regularization applications still pending.
“We need people in Portugal ready to help us build a fairer and more prosperous society,” he said. “But we can’t go to the other extreme and throw the doors wide open.”
zc/dj (AFP, Reuters, EFE)
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