Ana Mendes Godinho, who was speaking in parliament during a hearing on the proposed State Budget for 2024 (OE2024), said that during 2022 foreign workers contributed 1,800 million euros, while this year the 720 thousand existing foreign workers they contributed 1,700 million euros for Social Security until August alone.

For the minister, this data shows the importance of Portugal being "an open country that makes its openness to others a way of guaranteeing greater growth and greater capacity for social development".

The Minister of Labour also said that the numbers "break the myth and taboo" that foreign workers are unqualified, that foreign workers are also in many cases very qualified, noting that, if the construction sector is excluded, "more than 50% of new jobs [for foreign workers] are related to technological activities, consultancy, and specialised technical activities".

"Portugal belongs to everyone, it is for everyone who chooses Portugal to live, it is for everyone that Portugal's wealth is built, guaranteeing decent working conditions and on equal terms with anyone else", she stated.