Government says: “Illegal stay is no longer tolerated.”
Portugal’s immigration policy has entered a new phase of enforcement. The Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, confirmed the government will notify 18,000 immigrants to leave the country, with 4,574 notices already in progress. Describing the action as part of a wider effort to regulate immigration, the government also flagged 110,000 additional pending cases. Most of the individuals affected either hold criminal records, previously received expulsion orders in other EU countries, or violated entry rules. Portugal now vows to end the era of permissiveness, even as political tensions rise over failed reforms to strengthen border enforcement.
Malundo Kudiqueba
Minister António Leitão Amaro confirms: Portugal to notify 18,000 immigrants to leave (4,574 notices already in motion)
The Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, confirmed on Saturday that 4,574 foreign nationals in an irregular situation are currently receiving exit notifications from the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA). These cases are part of a first wave of 18,000 rejections already decided.
“The message is clear: being in Portugal illegally is no longer a grey area – it’s a red line,” declared the minister.
“In the coming weeks, what lies ahead are these 18,000 notifications for leaving national territory,” he said at a press conference, following confirmation of a report by Jornal de Notícias that 4,500 immigrants will soon begin receiving formal notices to voluntarily leave the country.
Portugal is no longer a waiting room for irregularity. It’s time to pack or be packed.
Leitão Amaro stressed this measure is part of a first set of decisions, with another 110,000 cases still under review. These will result in “more rejections and more notifications.” Still, he added, “The majority will be approved.”
Hope remains for many, but for thousands, the door is already closing.
“This confirms that Portugal’s immigration policy is now based on regulated migration. Immigration rules are to be respected. Non-compliance has consequences,” Leitão Amaro emphasized.
“Portugal is open – but not for disorder.”
“In all these cases, let’s be clear: these are people who broke Portuguese and European rules regarding entry and stay in national territory.”
If you don’t follow the rules, you don’t stay in the game.
“For the sake of justice — to those who follow the law, both Portuguese and foreigners — a rule-of-law state must do more than talk. It must act. And the law says: notify, wait 20 days, and if they don’t leave, proceed with coercive removal,” he added.
The grace period is short. After 20 days, the clock turns into a countdown.
Most of these cases involve individuals who already had exit orders from other EU countries, or who were subject to entry bans, or were flagged for criminal records. According to the government, around two-thirds of the cases concern immigrants from the Indian subcontinent.
Europe said no. Now Portugal says: not here either.
The Minister also pointed to Portugal’s struggle in recent years to enforce coercive removals, especially since the dismantling of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF). He again criticised the Socialist Party (PS) and Chega, noting that in 2023 the government proposed the creation of a new foreigner and border unit within the PSP and a faster, more effective deportation process, which Parliament rejected.
When politics blocks law enforcement, chaos becomes policy.
Portugal tried to bring order. Some parties chose disorder instead.
Amsterdam, 05.05. 2025.
Malundo Kudiqueba
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