World Immigration News

Portuguese police arrest immigration fraud suspects

Release Date: 2025-05-09
Media: InfoMigrants
Summary: Portuguese police have arrested 13 individuals — including a lawyer, businesspeople, and a foreign ministry official — for allegedly running a bribery scheme that provided over 10,000 migrants with fake labor contracts to obtain residency permits. Each permit reportedly cost around €15,000. Many migrants later moved to other EU countries using these documents.

The arrests come amid a political climate where the center-right government is intensifying immigration enforcement ahead of the May 18 national election. The government plans to deport 18,000 undocumented migrants, mostly from South Asia, giving them 20 days to leave or appeal. It remains unclear whether those involved in the fraud scheme will be deported.

Immigration has become a key election issue, with opposition parties accusing Prime Minister Luís Montenegro of using it to distract from government failures. Migrant support groups argue many undocumented migrants are victims of bureaucratic delays caused by the transition from the former Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) to the new Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (AIMA). Portugal’s foreign-born population has grown significantly, rising from 4% in 2017 to 15% in 2024.
Tags: PORTUGAL

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