According to the SEF Immigration Office, residence requests skyrocketed by 1300 percent in the first week of new laws allowing foreigners to gain residency based on an employment pledge.
SEF has expressed concerns over the new rules, created by the leftist government, suggesting that it can be used by illegal immigration networks. The highest number of residence requests, which last week totalled over four thousand, came from Brazil, India, Nepal, Cape Verde and the Ukraine.
This news comes as the Portuguese Prime Minister expressed the desire that freedom of movement become a reality in the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries.
António Costa explained that negotiations are currently well underway to increase the movement of the citizens between countries such as Portugal, Brazil, Angola and Mozambique.
Explaining that an agreement had been reached in principal, the Portuguese Prime Minister said the Community should also encourage freedom of residence and academic
qualifications.
Earlier this week, the Guardian reported that business executives implicated in a Brazilian corruption scandal and relatives of an Angolan politician, who has been accused of bribery, have secretly bought access to Europe via the government of Portugal.
A businessman sentenced to 18 years under house arrest and the former president of a scandal-ridden construction conglomerate are also among those named in a leaked document as having paid hundreds of thousands of euros in their pursuit of a “golden visa” in Portugal, the Guardian said.