The Government is preparing to sort out the situation for about 30,000 immigrants who can not prove that they have entered the country legally, but can prove they have been working here for at least a year.
The aim is to grant a residence permit to those who have entered without a visa and hence are unable to meet the normal rules for legalisation.
The main immigrant groups are Brazilians, Chinese, Nepalese and Indonesians many members of which pay tax and social security but have no access to services without residency status.
According to Portugal’s National Statistics Institute, between 2015 and 2080, the population will fall from the current 10.3 million to just 7.5 million citizens.
While most EU countries see immigration as a major problem, Portugal is keen to encourage an influx of immigrants to at least start to alleviate the demographic time bomb facing Europe.
Parliament agrees that ‘something must be done’ but tries and fails to implement successful strategies while its population continues to decline.
Prime Minister, António Costa, is pro-immigration while the PSD opposition party wants incentive for home grown solutions that encourage couple to engage in a prolonged period of unprotected sex, followed by a "policy for children" that includes €10,000 per child (paid in installments, until the age of 18) and free day care centers from the age of six months.
It now is generally agreed that 75,000 immigrants-a-year are needed to redress the demographic imbalances.
