Foreign population in Portugal reached 1.586 million: What does AIMA's new report show?

The number of foreign citizens residing in Portugal reached 1,585,854 by the end of 2025.

Relatório de Migrações e Asilo 2025, published by Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA) on September 22, shows that the foreign population in the country increased by approximately 38 thousand people compared to the previous year.

However, one of the important developments in the report is not just the total number: AIMA states that there is a stabilization in new entries after the very rapid growth in previous years.

By the end of 2025, the number will be 1,585,854

According to AIMA's new data, in Portugal by the end of 2025:

1,585,854 foreign citizens were residing.

At the end of 2024, the official number was announced as 1,543,697.

Therefore, although the foreign population continues to increase, the pace of the very rapid increase seen in previous years has slowed down.

AIMA attributes this to the stabilization of new entrants and the more structured integration of the foreign community into Portugal's economic and social life.

More than 500 thousand residence card transactions

AIMA has issued more than 500 thousand residence permits throughout 2025.

of this:

337,880 new residence permits,

189,331 of them were renewed

It was recorded as .

However, there is an important detail here.

Just because a residence card was issued in 2025 does not mean that the person came to Portugal in 2025.

Due to the density of old files ongoing in AIMA, the date of issuance of the document and the date of entry of the person into the country are different from each other. He specifically states that it may be different.

More than 605 thousand face-to-face transactions at AIMA

The organization recorded 671,273 appointments and processed 605,890 face-to-face transactions during the year, according to the report.

These figures show that AIMA's large-scale operation to reduce the caseload from previous years continues.

The statistical correction and record verification process, which started in 2024, continued throughout 2025.

It is wrong to say “1.6 million immigrants have just arrived”

An important distinction must be made when interpreting new data.

The number 1,585,854 is not the number of people coming to Portugal in 2025.

This figure represents the total population of foreign citizens recorded as residing in Portugal at the end of the year.

Likewise, not all of the hundreds of thousands of residence documents issued in 2025 mean new immigration; A significant portion of these are linked to processes or renewals from previous periods.

Work determines new residence permits

According to the data of the AIMA report published today, the study formed the basis of the majority of new residence permits issued in 2025.

This situation makes not only the numerical size of the foreign population in Portugal important, but also its connection with the labor market.

PTNewsHub will further review the report's nationality, region, employment and family reunification data in the coming days.

Resources

RTP / Lusa — September 22 2026

https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/pais/portugal-com-quase-16-milhoes-de-estrangeiros-residentes-no-final-de-2025_n1766954

Rádio Renascença / Lusa — 22 September 2026

https://rr.pt/noticia/pais/2026/09/22/portugal-com-quase-16-milhoes-de-estrangeiros-residentes-no-final-de-2025/486361/

Diário de Notícias / Lusa — 22 September 2026

https://www.dn.pt/sociedade/trabalho-esteve-na-origem-de-957-das-novas-autorizaes-de-residncia-em-portugal-em-2025