Speaking at a roundtable entitled “Challenges for the Integration of the Pakistani Community in Portugal”, Gazanfar Javid defended the need to strengthen the integration of his compatriots in the country, proposing the construction of a community headquarters and a greater focus on teaching Portuguese.

“We have to make the effort to speak Portuguese and be part of Portuguese society,” to counter the “trend of Pakistanis leaving the country,” said Gazanfar Javid.

“Our people don’t stay in Portugal because of the low salaries” and “only a minority ends up staying because of the bonds that are created”, he explained.

The majority, “after obtaining Portuguese nationality, prefer to go to countries like Spain, Germany or the United Kingdom”, because “salaries are higher”, even though “there are more integration problems” in these countries.

In Portugal, “Pakistanis prefer to have small businesses” while “waiting to have nationality” that allows them to travel and work in Europe.

Present at the debate, organised by the Observatory of the Islamic World, Serfraz Francis, another association leader, endorsed the comment, considering that “Portugal is just a transit point” in its migratory process.

But for Gazanfar Javid, Pakistanis who are in Portugal must “make the effort to integrate, have their children in Portuguese schools” so that “this desire to emigrate is not so great”.

According to the 2023 Migration and Asylum report, released in 2024, Portuguese authorities registered 17,148 Pakistanis in Portugal, with 6,869 residence permits granted this year.

Pakistani authorities estimate that there are 30,000 Pakistani nationals in Portugal, with many still waiting for their case to be regularised.