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Brazilians are leaving Portugal for Spain in a movement that has intensified in recent months, driven by higher wages, an extraordinary regularization that could benefit 500,000 people, the tightening of Portuguese migratory laws, and growing reports of hostility against immigrants. The Brazilian community in Spain already totals 195,000 people, a 25% growth in three years.
According to G1, a growing number of Brazilians living in Portugal are making a decision that a few years ago would have been unlikely: crossing the border to start anew in Spain. The movement has gained strength in recent months and intensified after the Spanish government announced an extraordinary regularization in April that aims to legalize the situation of about 500,000 immigrants already living in the country. In WhatsApp groups for Brazilians in Spain, questions from compatriots living in Portugal about how and if it would be worth making the move are multiplying. New groups with hundreds of members have emerged exclusively to share practical information about the crossing.
Interest is especially strong in border regions, where changing countries literally means crossing a bridge. Spanish government data shows that the community of officially resident Brazilians in Spain reached 195,000 people in 2025, compared to 156,000 in 2022, an increase of about 25% in just three years. In the last quarter alone, 6,300 Brazilians moved to the country, a pace that, annualized, could exceed 25,000. But what is pushing so many Brazilians out of Portugal and pulling them to Spain?
What has changed in Portugal for Brazilians
Until 2024, Portugal maintained one of Europe’s most liberal immigration systems. Anyone who arrived and found work could regularize their status and, after five years, obtain nationality. That door has been closed. In 2025, the center-right governing coalition joined the radical right-wing party Chega to approve changes to the Foreigners Law that eliminate the possibility for immigrants to apply for residency after entering the country as tourists and tighten family reunification rules.
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The Portuguese Parliament also approved a new Nationality Law that extends the minimum residency period required for Brazilians to apply for nationality from five to seven years and eliminates automatic granting to children of immigrants born in Portugal. In addition to legal changes, there are clear signs of increasing hostility. Data from the Annual Internal Security Report show that in 2025, 449 cases of discrimination and incitement to hatred were registered, compared to 19 a decade ago. A survey by the Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos revealed that 51% of Portuguese believe the number of Brazilian immigrants should decrease.
Brazilians report growing hostility
The numbers confirm what many Brazilians feel in their daily lives. Paulo Geronimo, who lived seven years in Portugal as a truck driver before moving to Spain with his family in 2025, reports that in recent years he began to feel an increase in hostility, with phrases like “go back to your land” becoming more frequent. Even after successfully regularizing his situation in Portugal, Paulo decided it was time to leave.
Mônica Rovaris, a retired university professor with dual Brazilian and Italian citizenship, followed the same path. She moved from northern Portugal to Galicia, in northwestern Spain, with her husband and two children. According to Mônica, Portugal failed to adequately address the increase in immigration: there is a climate of greater hostility, and immigrant assistance services have collapsed. Her husband, who is Brazilian, had been waiting two years for his residency visa renewal. Cases of violence against immigrants have also caused commotion in the community, reinforcing the perception that the environment in Portugal has deteriorated.
What Spain offers differently
While Portugal tightens its rules, Spain is moving in the opposite direction. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government has publicly advocated for immigration as part of the solution to structural economic challenges, such as population aging and labor shortages in sectors like construction, hospitality, logistics, and care. No other European government has stated so clearly that immigration is fundamental for economic growth.
The data supports this position. Between 2002 and 2024, of the 5.2 million people who joined the Spanish active population, 75% were foreigners or had dual nationality. In 2025, Spain’s GDP grew by 2.8%, compared to 0.2% for Germany, 0.9% for France, and 1.9% for Portugal. The Spanish minimum wage is 1,221 euros (about R$ 7,040), while the Portuguese is 920 euros (about R$ 5,300), both paid in 14 annual salaries. For Brazilians already living on the Iberian Peninsula, this difference of more than 300 euros per month weighs on the decision to cross the border.
Extraordinary regularization and what it means for Brazilians
The most impactful measure by the Spanish government for Brazilians already living in the country is the extraordinary regularization initiated in April. The program allows immigrants who were in Spain until the end of December 2025 to obtain work and residence permits, even without meeting the traditional requirements of the so-called “arraigo.” Conditions include having no criminal record and proving at least five months of stay in the country before the end of 2025.
Officially, the government expects about 500,000 people to benefit, most of them from Latin America, although the Funcas research center estimates that the number of irregular immigrants in Spain could exceed 800,000. The government states that the measure responds to a social urgency and will have a positive fiscal impact by bringing workers into formality. The last regularization of this type occurred in 2005 and legalized over 500,000 people. Studies by economist Joan Monras, from Pompeu Fabra University, concluded that the measure did not generate a “pull effect” and increased revenue by about 4,000 euros annually per regularized worker.
The legal path that already existed for Brazilians in Spain
Even before the extraordinary regularization, Spain already offered more accessible legalization routes for Brazilians than many European countries. The “arraigo” system allows that, after two years living in the country, even irregularly, immigrants can apply for a residence permit provided they prove ties such as an employment relationship or studies. For nationals of Ibero-American countries, including Brazil, Spanish citizenship can be requested after only two years of legal residence.
This combination of arraigo and accelerated citizenship creates a horizon that in Portugal would take at least seven years, but in Spain can materialize in four. For Brazilians already living on the Iberian Peninsula who compare the two options, the math is clear. Paulo Geronimo, the driver who moved from Portugal, has already secured a promise of an employment contract in Spain and is developing an application to connect drivers and Spanish companies, leveraging the experience accumulated over years on Portuguese roads.
The risks that the Spanish scenario also carries
The favorable moment for Brazilians in Spain is not free from uncertainties. Spanish general elections are scheduled for 2027, and polls indicate a close dispute between Sánchez’s PSOE and the center-right Partido Popular (PP), which promises a reform to “bring order” to the migratory system. The PP does not speak of closing doors but proposes raising requirements for nationality. Polls also indicate a possible strengthening of Vox, a radical right-wing party with an anti-immigration stance, with whom the PP might have to pact to form a government.
The increase in immigration has also exacerbated the Spanish housing crisis, identified as one of the main difficulties by newcomers. A survey by the 40dB institute revealed that 60% of Spaniards believe the number of immigrants in the country is already too high, although only 14.8% point to immigration as one of the country’s three main problems. Experts warn that the scenario could change with a change of government, recalling that migratory cycles in Europe tend to alternate between greater openness and greater restriction.
A bridge between two countries and two realities
Brazilians are crossing the border between Portugal and Spain in increasing numbers, attracted by better salaries, more welcoming migratory policies, and the concrete possibility of regularization. The movement reflects a shift in route that combines Portuguese tightening with Spanish openness, but also carries uncertainties about the political future of the neighboring country. For those already on the Iberian Peninsula, the decision to cross the bridge is increasingly practical than symbolic.
Do you live in Portugal or Spain, or are you thinking of emigrating to one of the two countries? Share your experience in the comments, whether you have felt hostility in Portugal, if you consider Spain a viable alternative, and what you think about the extraordinary regularization. We want to hear from those who live this reality daily.
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