Portugal will welcome almost 121,000 immigrants in 2022, the highest number in nine years and four times more than recorded in 2014, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The data is contained in the latest International Migration Prospects 2023 report, which the OECD publishes this Monday and in which it can be seen that Portugal has moved from 30,800 immigrants in 2014 to 120,800 in 2022, with this latter figure still being assessed.
These values apply to permanent migration, excluding situations of admission for humanitarian reasons, such as that which occurred after the war in Ukraine, and this phenomenon is transversal throughout the world, with the OECD noting that “the number of new permanent immigrants in the OECD has reached a record level in 6.1 million in 2022.”
The number is about 26% higher than in 2021 and 14% higher than in 2019, according to the 38-nation organization, adding that the four main destination countries (USA, Germany, UK and Spain) recorded significant annual growth, from 21% to 35%.
It also said that in all five of these countries, permanent immigration was higher in 2022 than in 2019, before the pandemic, citing the UK, Spain and Canada as examples of countries where this type of migration was highest in the last 15 years.
Regarding the family, Portugal is, in fact, considered one of the countries that provides personalized support to migrant or refugee women, with a program covering, among others, employers, public authorities, civil society and employment centers.
According to the OECD, the largest percentage of migrants (18.1%) worked in the service sector, followed by the mining, manufacturing and energy sectors (14.9%), and wholesale and retail trade (14%), with hotels and restaurants 12% of immigrants retain and data on agriculture and fisheries are missing.
Brazil, India and Belgium are the top three countries with the most immigrants in 2021. Among the 15 largest origin countries, Germany recorded the strongest increase (+1400) and Brazil recorded the largest decrease (-2800) in flows to Portugal compared to the previous year. This is reported by the OECD.
In 2022, the number of first-time asylum seekers increased by 47% to about two thousand. The majority of applicants were from Afghanistan (300), India (200) and Ukraine (200, not counting beneficiaries of temporary protection).
The largest increase since 2021 concerns citizens of Ukraine (+200), and the largest decrease concerns citizens of Afghanistan (-300). Of the 870 decisions made in 2022, 78% were positive.
Emigration of Portuguese citizens to OECD countries in 2021 increased by 21%, to 47 thousand. Approximately 16% of this group migrated to France, 16% to Switzerland and 14% to Spain.
The report also endorses the creation of the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA), which will “replace the High Commission for Migration (ACM), implementing public policy in the field of migration and asylum”, as well as the introduction of a visa regime. for nomads digital.
“Another important change is the acceleration of the issuance of visas to citizens of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP) under the Mobility Agreement between these countries,” the OECD highlights, adding that the process has also been made easier for international students. can work.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.