Portuguese immigration is in a constant state of shifting reality, but perhaps the most surprising in recent years has been initiated by Brexit. The United Kingdom, which was once the main destination for those leaving Portugal, with Brexit, is no longer a destination for highly qualified workers, who now prefer to choose countries in Northern Europe.
The Migration Observatory of the Center for Sociology Research and Studies in Iscte has collected figures, cited by the public, that reveal that countries like Sweden and Denmark reached record levels of Portuguese immigration last year.
In Iceland there was the second largest entry of Portuguese into the country this century, and in Norway and Iceland, the number of immigrants from Portugal increased again for the second year in a row.
On the other hand, Portuguese immigration to the UK last year accounted for 41%. In 2022, the United Kingdom announced that it had received the largest number of immigrants ever, but only 0.8% of them came from Portugal.
“What seems to be happening, with growth in the Nordic countries, is a redistribution,” notes Rui Pena Peris, scientific coordinator of the Migration Observatory.
Unlike other destination points for Portuguese immigrants, such as France, those seeking work and life in the Nordic countries have mostly completed their degrees. 60% of Portuguese immigrants who arrived in Sweden in 2020 were university graduates, three times more than 20 years ago.
Last year, 547 Portuguese immigrated to Sweden, an increase of more than 34% compared to the previous year. One of them was Diogo Mendes, who is currently a professor at the Faculty of Economics at Stockholm University. In addition to the ease of adaptation, because although Swedish is practically not spoken, everyone in the country speaks English, the reasons for the change are the same as those for others to make a living in these northern destinations: a better quality of life.
“I don’t know how I can get back my salary and the conditions I have here,” he told Publico.
Other Portuguese immigrants, who are now in Denmark, Finland and Norway, are not planning to return anytime soon. Although admitting that they miss the days of sun and heat, beaches and terraces, they do not forget the advantages they now enjoy: higher wages, better infrastructure and housing, cheaper energy, an excellent public transport network and “the possibility of owning a well-maintained home and car”.
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