The right-wing government of Portugal adopts legislative reform that accelerates the expulsion of undocumented immigrants.

Portugal has adopted a legislative reform that facilitates the rapid expulsion of undocumented immigrants, thus continuing the tightening of immigration policy that began two years ago. The spokesperson for the cabinet, Antonio Leitao Amaro, emphasized the need for consequences for illegality, mentioning that Portugal has one of the lowest expulsion rates in Europe. The bill, which will be put to a vote in parliament, provides for the reduction of administrative times for expulsion, the revision of migrant protection criteria, the simultaneous processing of asylum applications, and the extension of return bans. Additionally, the period of preventive detention for migrants could be extended to 18 months. The government of Prime Minister Luis Montenegro has implemented these measures in the context of the increasing number of foreign residents in Portugal, which exceeded 1.5 million by the end of 2024.