Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro said that "the best gateway" for "successful immigration" to Portugal is offered by higher education institutions, which can take advantage of the skills of individuals from other countries in order to create a more competitive national economy. His comments reflect a recent trend in policy and practice across the country that focuses on promoting highly-skilled migration from other (third) countries.

Mr. Montenegro, speaking at the inauguration of the expansion of the Alentejo Science and Technology Park (PACT) in Évora, stressed that projects like the park help to not only retain, maintain and take advantage of the talent of young Portuguese, but also to attract foreigners. He said:

"If we can be attractive to foreign students, we will have the opportunity to take advantage of the qualifications they acquire and integrate them into our community, thus being able to strengthen our human capital and [become more] competitive."

Several Portuguese higher education institutions are working to increase their appeal to foreign students as a strategy for internationalisation, and the number of foreign students in the country has been growing steadily. In the last 6 years the number of international students doubled, reaching a total 74 597 in 2023.

Relatedly, and as previously discussed on EWSI, the government recently presented an action plan for international migration: it comprises a list of 41 measures in which young students and skilled professionals are 2 of the priority target groups. 

Another priority target group for the action plan is composed of nationals from Portuguese-Speaking countries (CPLP). According to executive secretary of the CPLP Mr. Zacarias da Costa, the legislative changes related to immigration "benefit CPLP, because before, the provisions for CPLP were part of a more general framework and now they are apart". The Portuguese Government is negotiating the transformation of the current mobility visa for immigrants from the CPLP into a community visa (Shengen), which allows CPLP citizens to circulate through the European Union.