Portugal arrests 240 foreigners for ‘illegal permanence in country’ since ‘cracking down on border controls’

More than 240 foreign nationals have been detained for illegally remaining in Portugal since October 2023 – while a further 540 have been ordered to leave the country voluntarily, according to new figures released by GNR police.

The force said it has carried out extensive immigration enforcement operations since assuming responsibility for land and maritime border controls and the monitoring of foreign citizens across 94% of Portuguese territory following the restructuring of Portugal’s immigration system.

Since October 2023, GNR officers have checked more than 91,000 foreign nationals and conducted around 5,400 inspection operations across multiple sectors of the economy.

The inspections uncovered thousands of immigration-related violations, including 3,286 failures to submit mandatory entry declarations and 497 cases of overstaying legal residence permits.

According to the GNR, particular attention has been focused on agriculture, fisheries, industry, construction, hospitality and tourism — sectors that employ large numbers of migrant workers and where authorities have identified cases of illegal residence, labour exploitation and suspected human trafficking.

“The presence of GNR officers in these contexts also contributes to verifying the living and working conditions of foreign citizens,” the force said in a statement, highlighting the need to protect foreigners who may be vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

In total, more than 6,500 administrative fines were issued during the nearly three-year period.

The GNR also reports extensive border-control activity. Since October 2023, officers have inspected more than 100,000 vessels and nearly 11 million passengers — a figure larger than Portugal’s own population.

The force operates 15 maritime border posts across mainland Portugal, the Azores and Madeira, where it oversees passenger and crew movements in and out of the Schengen Area, monitors ports and marinas, and issues visas at border crossings.

The GNR’s Border Guard Group is also responsible for authorising access to international port security zones and has issued 82,579 permits since taking on its expanded responsibilities.

The figures provide one of the clearest snapshots yet of Portugal’s post-SEF border enforcement efforts as the country continues to grapple with record migration levels and the regularisation of hundreds of thousands of immigration cases.

Source: SIC Notícias/ LUSA

Natasha Donn

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.