Welcome to the Week em Breve, a wrap-up of important Portuguese news to keep you up to date and in the know.
Marcelo approves new “Foreigner’s Law”
President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa enacted the controversial “Foreigner’s Law” last Thursday, October 16, after indicating previously that he would send it back to the Constitutional Court.
A note published on the website of the Presidency of the Republic announced:
“Considering that the law now revised and approved by 70% of MPs minimally addresses the concerns of unconstitutionality raised by the President of the Republic and confirmed by the Constitutional Court, the President of the Republic also promulgated the law of the Assembly of the Republic amending Law No. 23/2007 of 4 July, which approves the legal regime for the entry, stay, departure and expulsion of foreigners from the national territory.”
The revised law was voted through in September after an earlier version was judged unconstitutional.
It includes measures on family reunification, more stringent rules on proving adequate housing, and limits work visas to highly qualified professionals, among other measures.
Parliament approves veil ban
On Friday, Portugal’s parliament approved a bill banning face veils in most public spaces, Reuters reports.
The bill, proposed by the far-right Chega party, targets veils worn for “gender or religious motives,” which effectively means those worn by Muslim women.
If passed into law, the bill would punish wearing a veil in public with a fine between €200 and €4,000, while forcing someone to wear a veil could result in a prison sentence of up to three years, the publication writes.
Other European countries, including France, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands, already have legislation banning or partially banning face veils.
The bill is now with the president.
Over 9000 “voluntary departure” notices issued by AIMA
The Agency for Integration, Migrations and Asylum (AIMA, Agência para a Integração Migrações e Asilo) issued 9,268 notifications of voluntary departure in the first half of 2025, The Portugal News reports.
AIMA announced the figures in their 2024 Migration and Asylum Report due to “the significant trend variation observed” compared with the 446 notifications issued by the end of 2024, the publication writes.
It was announced in May that AIMA had rejected 18,000 residence permit applications, which would result in voluntary departure notices before the end of the year.
This latest report suggests that over half have already been issued.
People are spending bigger chunk of their income on housing, study finds
A survey has revealed that 36.4% of Portuguese people spend more than 30% of their household income on rent or mortgage payments, Observador reports.
Compared with the same survey last year, there has been an increase in the share of people spending above the recommended 35% of their income on housing, including those who reported spending at least 41% of their income on rent or mortgages.
The largest jump was in those spending more than 71% of their household income on housing, going from 0.7% in 2024 to 3.9% this year.
The study is by the Observatory of the Portuguese Society Behavioral Insights Unit at the Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics.
Portugal sees biggest increase in house prices on record
House prices in September were 23% higher than the same period last year, the largest increase since records began in 1988, Bloomberg reports.
The average price per square meter is now €2,885 in mainland Portugal, compared with €1,573 five years ago, the publication writes.
The last record-breaking increase was in August 2025, a month before, when prices rose 21.6% compared to the previous year.
Houses in Portugal are overvalued, according to EU report
A European Commission report published last Tuesday said that that home prices in Portugal are “estimated to be overvalued by around 35%,” Euronews reports.
Between 2014 and 2024, home prices across Europe increased by an average of 50%, but in several countries, including Portugal, price growth exceeded 200%, the publication writes.
These inflated values are caused by multiple factors, including tourism and short-term rentals, according to the report, Euronews writes.
The report, Housing in the European Union: market developments, underlying factors and policies, states:
“There is growing empirical evidence suggesting that increase in tourism in general, and the increase of home-sharing platforms in particular, have contributed to a rise in rents and housing prices in some prime location such as historic centres of cities.”
“At a national level, there is evidence that Portugal is the EU country where tourism has had the strongest impact on house prices.”
Tourism is more expensive in Portugal than Southern European average
The cost of accommodation, as well as visits to restaurants, cafes and bars, grew 31.4% between 2019 and 2024, significantly more than other Mediterranean European countries, according to data from the Bank of Portugal, Público reports.
Neighbouring Spain, for example, saw an increase of 21.9%, similar to Greece (20.7%) and Italy (20.9%). Portugal’s increase was double that of France, at 15.3%.
That said, the price for accommodation and food in Portugal is still almost 25% lower than the European Union average, the publication writes.
The costs were calculated using the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices, which allows for comparisons across countries.
