"The Government is preparing measures, particularly in this specific sector of civil construction, to facilitate the entry of immigrants", said Manuel Castro Almeida during a hearing at the Budget, Finance and Public Administration Committee, in the Assembly of the Republic.

He stressed that "when companies have signed contracts with them and provide them with housing and employment guarantees, there is no reason to prevent these people from entering".

At the hearing, which took place as part of the discussion on the specifics of the State Budget for 2025 (OE2025), the minister warned that, with the resources currently available in Portugal, "it will apparently not be possible to execute all the works financed with funds from the European Union on time".

"A reality is happening that has a lot to do with a very serious issue, which is the issue of immigration: with the resources we currently have in Portugal, it seems it will not be possible to execute everything on time", he stated.

Emphasising that "either there is an increase in the influx of immigrants, particularly for the construction sector, or there will be no conditions to execute these works", Castro Almeida warned: "Parliament needs to be fully aware of the scope of its positions".

Last July, the president of the Association of Civil Construction and Public Works Industry Workers (AICCOPN) warned that the sector was facing "increased difficulties" in hiring foreign workers since the recent changes to the law on foreigners, which he considered to increase "the rigidity and slowness" of the legalisation processes.

"With the recent changes to the law on foreigners, particularly the repeal of the mechanism for expressing interest, we are already facing increased difficulties in hiring foreign workers", said the president of the Portuguese Confederation of Construction and Real Estate (CPCI), Manuel Reis Campos, in statements to Lusa news agency.

The association leader highlighted that, in a sector where the lack of workers was already "a critical problem", with an estimated deficit of 80,000 professionals, this change increased "the rigidity and slowness of the legalisation processes, exacerbating the shortage of qualified workers".

On 3 June, the Government announced the end of the exceptional regime that allowed foreigners to enter Portugal and only then apply for a residence permit, and announced the creation of a mission structure to regularise pending processes, estimated at 400,000.

The Action Plan for Migration, approved that day by the Council of Ministers, includes the "end of the exceptional regime that now allows entry without rules, eliminating the so-called expressions of interest procedure", considered an "open door and source of many pending issues".

As a result, it is no longer possible for foreigners with a tourist visa to regularise their situation in Portugal, requiring an employment contract or another solution previously dealt with in the Portuguese consular network.