Immigration Barometer: the view of the Portuguese

The fourth barometer from Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos is on the subject of immigration and is aimed at learning more about the views of the Portuguese population resident in Portugal on the immigrant population and gauging their opinions on the social and economic impact of immigration.

Against the backdrop of increasing immigration in Portugal, where it has been climbing more rapidly since 2015, the results of this survey provided a detailed, comprehensive view of the opinions and attitudes of Portuguese people on immigration, thus providing relevant information that will inform public debate and support the formulation of public policies that promote coexistence and social integration in a context of social and economic development.

The impact of immigration on areas such as the labour market, social security contributions and its perceived effects on employment, salaries and crime are some of the subjects that the respondents were asked about. Their views in relation to the geographic origin of the immigrants are also analysed in depth, including immigrants from Eastern Europe, Africa, Brazil, China and the Indian subcontinent.

Of note among the main conclusions are:

• There is an inflated idea of the number of immigrants in Portugal, which significantly influences attitudes towards immigration: at least 42% of the respondents overestimate the number of immigrants in Portugal;
• Even if there were no trend towards worsening attitudes in the long term, the general view of immigration is predominantly negative. A significant part of the population is opposed to immigration, seeing it more as a threat than as an opportunity;
• The conclusions reveal that 68% of the respondents agree that immigrants are fundamental for the national economy;
• At the same time, around 68% of the respondents believe that the immigration policy in force in Portugal is too lenient when it comes to letting immigrants into the country;
• Despite a more predominant pattern of negative attitudes, it should be noted that the majority of the respondents still agree with the granting of rights, such as the right to vote like the Portuguese, the right to family reunification and the right to naturalisation.