Portugal is now home to an estimated 1,543,697 foreign nationals, according to the latest report from the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA).
The figure, dated 31 December 2024, marks the official tally of immigrants living in the country, and confirms that Portugal’s foreign population has almost quadrupled in just seven years, rising from just over 420,000 residents to 1.5 million. The report finally settles months of speculation about the true scale of immigration in Portugal. As of 31 December 2024, Portugal’s estimated total population stood at 10,749,635.
Back in April, AIMA had published an interim report suggesting a similar figure. Weeks later, however, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa openly questioned the accuracy of those numbers, citing inconsistencies between AIMA’s data and figures released by the National Statistics Institute (INE). “Something doesn’t add up,” the President remarked at the time.
Behind closed doors, during meetings with political parties, Rebelo de Sousa reportedly went further, suggesting that immigration figures might have been inflated or manipulated to justify the government’s migration policy.
The President later referred the Foreigners Act to the Constitutional Court, which subsequently struck it down. AIMA’s latest figures were released on the very day the Head of State promulgated a new version of the law.
When the interim report first came out in April, it already pointed to over 1.5 million foreign residents, with officials hinting the total could rise further, as around 50,000 people were still waiting for approval under a transitional regime.
That revision never materialised, government sources explain, because half of those applicants failed to attend scheduled appointments. In other cases, cross-checks with other databases revealed that some foreign nationals had either obtained Portuguese citizenship or passed away.
AIMA also identified a statistical error in previous years’ data: in 2023, more than 300,000 foreign residents were not included in official reports, such as the Migration and Asylum Report. That means there were actually over 1.3 million immigrants in Portugal that year, not the one million initially reported.
Breaking down the current figures, AIMA notes that 1,096,170 people hold valid residence permits extending beyond 1 July 2024, with renewal rights for up to six months after expiry. In addition, 61,242 beneficiaries of Temporary Protection, who are not technically classed as residence permit holders, are still counted as residents.
Another 286,302 people have had their Expressions of Interest cases processed by the government’s task force, while 7,517 foreign nationals with expired residence permits have already paid administrative fees to regularise their situation.
A further 92,341 CPLP (Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries) residence permits have expired but are under review, and 125 long-term visa holders have been granted extensions to remain in Portugal beyond their initial authorisation.
According to a government source, throughout 2024 AIMA issued 218,332 residence permits, warning that the date of issuance often differs from the date of entry into Portugal. The agency also carried out over 600,000 appointments, reviewed more than 480,000 criminal records, and issued around 230,000 residence cards.
