Thinking about moving from Portugal to Spain

"I’ve been living in Portugal since early 2023 on a D3 visa (for highly skilled professionals). While my experience with Portuguese people and culture has been overwhelmingly positive, I’ve recently witnessed a growing wave of rejection and hostility toward immigrants — as if we were all criminals by default.

This shift in narrative, especially in recent political discourse, is deeply concerning. Proposals to extend the residency requirement for citizenship from 5 to 10 years send a clear message: integration, contribution, and legality are no longer enough.

I come from Latin America. I love Portugal its people, its traditions, its language. I came legally, pay taxes, contribute to the economy, and follow the law. But every time I deal with institutions like AIMA, IMT, or even some banks, I’m reminded that being legal doesn’t always mean being treated with dignity.

It’s frustrating to see that politicians seem to ignore the long-term political and economic consequences of alienating the very people who come to build a better Portugal. People like me have choices. Spain offers citizenship to Latin Americans after just 2 years. Other EU countries also provide faster, clearer paths. Why would the professionals, entrepreneurs, or highly qualified workers stay here if we’re treated as second-class residents for a decade?

Others integrate in 1 or 2 years they speak Portuguese, raise their families here, and love this country as their own. But a blanket restriction ignores this reality.

This is not just about policy. It’s about Portugal’s future. In a country facing demographic decline and labor shortages, punishing legal, integrated immigrants is not just unfair — it’s self-sabotage.

I’m not asking for privilege. I’m asking for vision. I’m asking for Portugal to continue being the open, fair, and humane country that brought me here in the first place. If the political system turns its back on that, many of us may be forced to look elsewhere.