Opinion – Rodrigo Tavares: Is it worth emigrating to Portugal?

The definitive data from the Census of Portugal, carried out every ten years, have just been published. In 2021, 542,314 people of foreign nationality resided in the country, mainly Brazilians (199,810 people or 37% of foreigners). In 2011, there were 109,787. The growth in the volume of Brazilians in the large urban centers of Lisbon, Porto and Braga has no parallel in the history of Portuguese immigration. Never before have so many Brazilians chosen Portugal to live.

The Censuses also revealed a country with fewer people (population decrease of 2.1% compared to 2011), more aged and with a population distributed in a more unbalanced way across the territory. Recent graduates continue to emigrate as a way to escape high youth unemployment rates.

Portugal is the third European country with the most aging population, with a stagnant economy for 20 years and a downward trend in the European Union’s development ranking. Forecasts suggest that it is about to be overtaken by humble Romania in GDP per capita. Portugal is the 8th poorest country in Europe, with 22.4% of the population living below the poverty line.

In this framework, Portugal should create conditions for the immigrant population, namely the Brazilian population, to be able to integrate, work, produce, innovate and raise families. But this has not been the case. At least not for most.

The government recently launched new types of visas that favor Brazilians (among other nationalities) who work in Portugal remotely or who are looking for a job on Portuguese soil. They are good news. But Brazilians encounter unexpected difficulties that are not being taken care of by the government.

The cost of living has grown wildly. The increase in prices has been felt, above all, in the real estate, energy, housing and food sectors. Some products have skyrocketed 20% in the last ten months. The inflationary spiral that is sweeping Europe partially explains the problem.

But the entry of hundreds of thousands of foreigners with high purchasing power and under differentiated and generous tax regimes, has also led to gentrification and the unbridled increase in housing values ​​(purchase and rent).

Brazilians who live in Portugal with income from Brazil, now have difficulties in maintaining the quality of life they enjoyed when they arrived in Portugal. The poverty line for living in Portugal is €554 net (R$3,029) per month. In Brazil, those earning this income are already middle class.

Furthermore, Brazilians living in Portugal, without enjoying special tax regimes, have to live like Portuguese in Portugal. That means low yields. Portugal is the fourth country in the European Union with the lowest average salary. One in four workers only earns the national minimum wage of 705 euros (data from the Ministry of Labour). Average wages in real terms fell by around 3% compared to 2000.

It would be in Portugal’s interest to attract a working-age population that could contribute to the Portuguese economy and, above all, to increase productivity —the main brake on Portuguese economic growth. But the taxes are heavy, penalizing entrepreneurship and SMEs. The corporate tax burden can reach a rate of 31.5%. In the 20-year trend, the tax burden on labor rose by 4.5 points. It is one of the OECD countries where the amount of taxes and social contributions paid weighs most heavily on total labor costs. Portugal has poor country wages and rich country taxes.

A significant number of Brazilians work in the hotel, restaurant and tourism sector. Pre-Covid, tourism accounted for around 19% of Portuguese GDP. Portugal is the 5th country in the world where the contribution of tourism to the GDP is strongest. But the lack of human capital is a challenge. About 50,000 workers are missing in this sector. But there are few national incentives to attract labor to this sector, which is increasingly demanding in terms of qualifications. For example, the 2020-2023 +Sustainable Tourism Plan, a national strategy to promote sustainable tourism, provided for the qualification of 50,000 professionals. The results were negligent.

The incentives came mainly to Brazilians from the higher classes. By September 2022, 1,123 Brazilians had received residence permits under the “golden visa” regime. In return, they invested 864 million euros over the last ten years. This capital injection is positive for the economy, but this group does not actively work in Portugal nor does it have prospects of permanent residence in the long term or of starting families.

To facilitate integration, the Portuguese State would also need to modernize immigration support structures. But the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF), the body that performs functions related to immigration control, is permanently in tachycardia, offering a Paleolithic quality service and with bow and arrow treatment. The various governments have promised to strengthen the infrastructure and increase the body of employees, but without concrete results. The Portuguese press gives voice to immigrants who had to make 30,000 calls before being able to be answered by the SEF call center.

The social integration of Brazilians is not inevitable. Fortunately there are no radical xenophobic movements and the local society is generally welcoming. But there are practically no Brazilians, or Portuguese of Brazilian origin, who occupy spaces of power, whether in business networks, in the media or in parliament and government. Portugal is a country that has difficulty renewing its elites. Brazilians, even those who ended up acquiring Portuguese nationality, end up living in cultural ghettos, with little integration into Portuguese society or with other emigrant communities.

With Bolsonaro’s defeat and the prospect of a return to normality in Brazil, many Brazilians who have lived in Portugal since 2019 are already planning to return home. Each one that decides to return should be interpreted as a defeat for Portugal. It is an opportunity that is lost for a person to be able to contribute to overcoming Portuguese economic and demographic problems. But if the country doesn’t offer better conditions, that’s what will end up happening.