According to SIC Notícias, in an interview with Renascença and Público, the former European Commissioner stated that, despite there being "several possible ways of organising regular immigration", the Government opted for one that he considers not to be sufficient.

"The Government has expressed a preference, which is for people to apply for a work visa and have an employment contract. That is one of the possible options. I believe that it is not enough. I believe that it is necessary to be bolder for our country."

António Vitorino asks the Government to be bold in the sense of "being proactive in the search for immigrants who are needed for certain job sectors in Portuguese society", highlighting the immigration figures in sectors such as agriculture, fishing, hotels, tourism and construction.

"It is relatively clear that this contingent of immigrants is necessary to guarantee a very simple thing: the Portuguese economy", he argues.

The former Director-General of the International Organisation for Migration also recognises that skilled immigration is needed, however, "If you go to nursing homes, if you go to childcare, you will see that you do not need to have a PhD, you do not need to have a doctorate to fill those jobs."

"This is the big mistake in the narrative today: that we only need qualified workers. That's not true. We need workers of all skill categories. I don't know of any waiting list of Portuguese people wanting to go and pick red fruit in Odemira."

In the interview, António Vitorino also states that we cannot "label all those who feel uncomfortable with the migratory flow as racists" because " living with diversity is sometimes a difficult exercise". To this end, he defends the need to invest in integration policies in Portuguese society and in coordination with the immigrants' countries of origin.

Entry of immigrants increases

According to SIC Notícias, the number of immigrants entering Portugal has increased by 95% in two years. Data released by the National Statistics Institute (INE) shows that the number has reached its highest level since 2015.

The resident population in Portugal increased again last year. In 2023, there were more than 10.5 million people living there, which represents an increase of 123 thousand inhabitants compared to the previous year. This growth is due to immigration.

It is estimated that around 190,000 permanent immigrants entered, an increase of 95% when compared to the value recorded in 2021.