Portugal’s caretaker government has announced plans to expel around 18,000 undocumented migrants, just weeks before the country holds a snap general election on 18 May.
Speaking on Saturday, Minister of the Presidency António Leitão Amaro stated that the center-right administration will begin issuing departure notices to foreigners residing in the country without legal status. Around 4,500 of them will initially be asked to leave voluntarily within 20 days, with the rest to follow.
Amaro said the move reflects a broader effort to overhaul Portugal’s deportation system, which he described as ineffective.
Portugal is among the three European countries that carry out the fewest deportations, even for serious rule violations, including security concerns, he told local media last week.
The announcement comes amid political turmoil. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, whose conservative Social Democratic Party leads a fragile two-party coalition, called early elections in March after his minority government lost a confidence vote in Parliament.
Montenegro’s administration had been in power for less than a year and was destabilized by allegations of a conflict of interest involving a family law firm linked to a state gambling concession.
The upcoming vote plunges Portugal into political uncertainty as the country manages over €22 billion in EU development funding. Analysts have also pointed to the growing influence of the right-wing Chega party, which rose to third place in last year’s election.
