Authorities in Portugal have dismantled a criminal group alleged to have attempted to illegally regularize the immigration status of about 4,000 migrants in the country. Police have arrested two suspected ringleaders of the scheme.
Two suspects were arrested during raids targeting the criminal gang, with one of the two reportedly a foreign citizen. Officials have not further identified the two detainees.
Police said they carried out the operation earlier in the week, targeting a criminal group on the outskirts of the capital, Lisbon, accused of facilitating irregular immigration by forging documents, committing computer fraud and laundering money.
The group is accused of having generated hundreds of thousands of euros in profits through the illegal regularization of around 4,000 migrants in recent years.
Officials said that the criminal gang had stolen online access credentials to Portugal's social security system from dozens of insolvent and inactive companies to forge fake employment contracts and other documentation necessary for the scheme.
Police added that the investigation into the ring dates all the way back to September 2023.
Read AlsoPortugal adopts stricter rules for undocumented migrants
Major changes in immigration policy
Portugal has witnessed a growth in immigration in recent years, including irregular arrivals.
The country's official migration agency AIMA (Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum) estimates more than 1.5 million foreign citizens are residing in Portugal legally — twice the number compared to 2022.
While there are no official numbers from AMIA on irregular migrants, Portugal's internal security report (RASI) said that in 2025, 23,134 undocumented immigrants were issued notices to leave the country voluntarily, also marking a major rise compared to previous years. In 2024, only 444 people were issued such official notices to leave the country.
The EU country with a total population of about 10.5 million people has been tightening its immigration rules in response to this overall immigration surge, paying particular attention to closing previous loopholes in the immigration system, which gave foreigners easy access to the job market.
Furthermore, under the proposed changes, there would also be limitations in asylum law, including the lengthening of the maximum period that asylum seekers can be held in temporary detention centers while their applications are being processed to up to 18 months.
Read AlsoPortugal: More police officers arrested, accused of abusing vulnerable people, including migrants
Portugal opts out of EU solidarity mechanism
There has also been a major crackdown on criminal groups facilitating irregular migrations across Portugal, with law enforcement increasingly closing in on smugglers and their collaborators.
The EU member has expanded its collaboration with Frontex, the EU's external border agency, to enforce its immigration laws more tightly, and has decided to opt out of the new EU 'solidarity' mechanism, which is due to be rolled out next month.
This means that rather than accepting a contingent of 420 asylum seekers transferred to Portugal each year under the redistribution mechanism, the Portuguese government will pay a compensation fee of 8.4. million euros to the European Commission instead.
Read AlsoPortugal: Government prepared to pay millions to keep asylum seekers out
with Reuters