Portugal has toughened its immigration rules ahead of the upcoming European Parliament elections. The government announced the end of an exceptional policy that allowed foreigners to enter the country and then apply for a residence permit.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro stated that this change is to prevent abuses of Portugal’s hospitality. “We want to put an end to mechanisms that have become an excessive abuse of our willingness to receive,” he said. “That end is today.”
Additionally, the government is creating a new structure to address the backlog of approximately 400,000 pending residency cases. From now on, tourists with visas will no longer be able to apply for legalization in Portugal.
These measures come just days before millions of Europeans head to the polls, in an election expected to shift the European Parliament to the right.
