Portugal and the English-Speaking World: A Long History of Uneven Migration
From time to time, in any large online group about Portugal, a familiar comment appears. A Portuguese voice saying some version of "we don't want you here." It is never pleasant to see, but it is also rare enough that it raises a more interesting question than the comment itself. As the founder of Visas.pt, a platform built on responsible immigration to Portugal, it was important for me to understand how widespread this sentiment really is and whether it truly reflects Portuguese society as a whole.
Looking at the broader history puts those moments into perspective. For centuries, Portuguese people have left their country in search of safety, stability, and opportunity. During the dictatorship, many left to escape political repression and poverty. In later decades, others left in search of work and economic mobility. English-speaking countries such as Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa received Portuguese migrants across multiple generations.
Entire communities were built. Families settled. Economies benefited on both sides.
Movement in the opposite direction, however, is comparatively recent. Large-scale immigration to Portugal from English-speaking countries is largely a phenomenon of the last decade or two. When the two flows are placed side by side, the relationship is clearly asymmetrical. Far more Portuguese people have gone to English-speaking countries over time than English-speaking migrants have come to Portugal.
Why This History Matters?
This reality is widely understood inside Portugal. Almost every Portuguese family has a relative living abroad, often several. Emigration is not an abstract concept here. It is lived experience. That is why the most hostile voices tend to be limited to a small online minority, often without a coherent message. In many cases, the frustration seems less focused on English-speaking migrants and more on immigration in general, particularly from other countries where cultural differences are more pronounced, causing separate debates to blur together.
What those voices often miss is the parallel in motivations. Many people arriving in Portugal today are doing so for reasons that closely mirror Portuguese emigration in earlier decades. Some are leaving due to recent political instability. Others are seeking peaceful living in their later years or a more predictable future for their families. Many are starting businesses or bringing portable work with them, looking for a better quality of life. These are not unfamiliar motivations in Portuguese history. They are deeply familiar ones.
The overwhelming majority of Portuguese people understand that their own country benefited enormously from openness abroad. Portuguese communities, both young and old, flourished in English-speaking countries precisely because doors were open, institutions adapted, and integration was allowed to happen over time. Those host societies gained workers, entrepreneurs, homeowners, and citizens who contributed for decades.
The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance
The long relationship between Portugal and the United Kingdom illustrates this continuity particularly well. The two countries share one of the oldest active alliances in the world, dating back to the fourteenth century. England supported Portuguese independence, Portugal supported England in multiple European conflicts, and the alliance persisted across centuries of political change.
Migration flowed in both directions at different moments, not because of short-term politics, but because of long-standing ties and mutual trust.
Portugal is now experiencing a new chapter. Its popularity has grown quickly, faster than many expected, including within Portugal itself. Rapid inflows inevitably strain housing, infrastructure, and services. These are the same debates playing out across English-speaking countries that have dealt with immigration for far longer. Concern about pace does not automatically equal hostility to people. It reflects adjustment pressure, not rejection.
Portugal is also a country known for cautious decision-making and long institutional memory. These issues will not be solved overnight, but they are not new problems in global terms. With more thoughtful housing policies and balanced immigration rules, which Portugal has started taking sensible steps towards, the pressures can ease over time.
For those who have made Portugal their home, there is room for gratitude on both sides. English-speaking countries provided opportunities to Portuguese migrants for generations. Portugal is now extending that same openness, even if on a smaller scale when measured as a total number or share of the population. The numbers may be uneven, but the principle is not one-directional.
"As an immigrant to Portugal, that reciprocity matters. It is possible to acknowledge growing pains while still recognising generosity."
Most people on both sides of this relationship understand that and now you and I do as well.
Migration: Portugal and the USA
Portugal and the United States share one of the longest uninterrupted transatlantic relationships in the modern world. While diplomacy and security often dominate how that relationship is discussed, migration has played an equally important role. What is often missed is how uneven that migration has been. For most of the past two centuries, movement ran overwhelmingly from Portugal to the United States, not the other way around, both in raw numbers and in demographic weight.
Portuguese migration to the United States began earlier than many people assume. Long before the major European migration waves of the late nineteenth century, Portuguese sailors, particularly from the Azores, were already embedded in American maritime life. From the late eighteenth century onward, Azorean men crewed American whaling ships operating in the Atlantic and Pacific. Some completed their voyages and stayed.
Others left the ships along the American coast and settled permanently. Over time, this created early Portuguese communities in places like New Bedford, Nantucket, and Fall River, making them some of the first Portuguese American centers in the country.
Large-Scale Migration to America
Large scale migration followed as economic pressures intensified. From the late 1800s through the early twentieth century, Azoreans and Madeirans arrived in growing numbers, settling across New England, California, and Hawaii. They worked in agriculture, fishing, and factories, filling labour gaps in both coastal and industrial economies. After World War II, migration surged again. Economic hardship and decades of authoritarian rule in Portugal pushed many to leave, while the United States offered industrial employment and family reunification.
By the 1960s and 1970s, Portuguese communities were firmly established in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, California's Central Valley, Northern California, and Hawaii, with Azoreans forming the backbone of this migration.
This movement was not temporary or experimental. It was working class, permanent, and family based. Portuguese Americans built churches, clubs, mutual aid societies, and festivals. Home ownership rates were strong, and cultural identity remained visible across generations.
Today, around 1.45 million people in the United States identify as having Portuguese ancestry, according to U.S. Census estimates. That represents roughly 0.42 to 0.43 percent of the entire U.S. population of about 337 million people—a significant demographic footprint for a country Portugal's size. While the number of Portuguese nationals actually born in Portugal and living in the United States is far smaller, the ancestry figures reflect deep, multi-generational settlement.
Americans Moving to Portugal
The movement in the opposite direction presents a sharp contrast. For most of history, American migration to Portugal was minimal. The relationship between the two countries was diplomatic and commercial rather than migratory. Even during World War II and the Cold War, when the Lajes Field air base in the Azores became strategically vital to the United States, the American presence was primarily military and short term. It did not result in large civilian communities or permanent settlement patterns.
Civilian American migration to Portugal is largely a twenty-first century phenomenon. Meaningful numbers only appear in the 2000s and accelerate after 2010, 2017, and again after 2020. The drivers are familiar and largely personal rather than economic necessity: retirement, lifestyle change, remote work, safety, healthcare access, climate, and political stability. Most Americans settle in Lisbon, Porto, and the Algarve. While this migration is highly visible in certain neighborhoods and sectors, it remains small in demographic terms.
Recent estimates suggest that around 14,000 to 19,000 U.S. citizens live in Portugal. Even using the higher estimate, Americans make up roughly 0.18 percent of Portugal's population. The contrast with Portuguese migration to the United States is stark. Portuguese migration created a population measured in the millions and representing a larger share of the host country's population than Americans represent in Portugal today.
This imbalance sits within a broader political relationship that has remained stable for centuries. Portugal recognized U.S. independence early, and the two countries have maintained uninterrupted diplomatic relations since the eighteenth century. Portugal is a founding member of NATO, and the Azores continue to play a central role in Atlantic security. Migration strengthened these ties over time, as Portuguese American communities became politically relevant in parts of the United States and cultural links followed people rather than policy.
"What emerges is not a symmetrical migration story. Portuguese migration to the United States was long, large scale, and demographically significant. American migration to Portugal is recent, limited in scale, and concentrated among adults making lifestyle driven choices."
Migration: Portugal and Canada
Portugal and Canada share a long migration relationship, but it has never been balanced. For most of the twentieth century, movement flowed overwhelmingly from Portugal to Canada. The reverse movement exists today, but it is recent, limited in scale, and very different in character.
Portuguese migration to Canada began in the early 1950s and expanded quickly in the decades that followed. The timing was not accidental. Portugal was poor, rural, and politically closed, governed by an authoritarian regime that offered little economic mobility. Canada, by contrast, was expanding rapidly in the post-war period and actively recruiting labour. In the 1950s, the Canadian government signed labour recruitment agreements with Portugal, opening formal pathways for Portuguese workers to enter the country.
Large numbers of migrants came from both mainland Portugal and the Azores, filling jobs in construction, manufacturing, fishing, agriculture, and services. They settled primarily in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and across southern Ontario. By the 1970s and 1980s, Portuguese Canadians were no longer a new or temporary presence. Family reunification expanded the population, and Portuguese churches, clubs, newspapers, radio, and social organisations became permanent features of Canadian urban life.
The Azorean Chapter
Within this broader history, Azorean migration to Canada stands out as a defining chapter. Large-scale migration from the Azores began in the early 1950s and accelerated sharply after 1953, when a major earthquake on the island of Terceira prompted Canada to accept Azorean refugees. What began as a humanitarian response quickly opened political and social doors for further migration. From the mid-1950s through the late 1970s, this became one of the largest overseas migration waves from the Azores in modern history.
The reasons were structural. The Azores were poorer and more isolated than mainland Portugal, with limited land, small-scale agriculture, few industrial jobs, and frequent natural disasters. Population pressure was high, and for many families emigration was not a choice but a necessity. Canada offered work, stability, family reunification, and the possibility of permanent settlement.
Most Azorean migrants were young, working-class adults with limited formal education but strong practical skills. Migration often followed a chain pattern, with single men arriving first and later bringing wives, children, and siblings. This created dense and durable communities, particularly in Toronto, Hamilton, Mississauga, Cambridge, Montreal, and parts of British Columbia. Toronto's Little Portugal became one of the largest urban concentrations of Azorean descendants outside Portugal.
Early work was physically demanding, concentrated in construction, factories, meat processing, cleaning, farming, and fishing. Over time, many Azoreans started small businesses, bought homes, and moved into skilled trades. Home ownership and intergenerational stability became central features of the community. Azorean cultural identity remained strong through Catholic parishes, Holy Ghost festivals, Portuguese clubs, and Portuguese-language media. Even as second and third generations became bilingual or English-dominant, island-based identity often remained distinct within the broader Portuguese community.
By the 1970s, Azoreans made up the majority of Portuguese immigrants to Canada. Today, most Portuguese Canadians have Azorean roots, making this one of the largest Azorean diaspora populations in the world.
Canadians Moving to Portugal
Migration in the opposite direction tells a much more recent and much smaller story. Canadian migration to Portugal did not exist in meaningful numbers until the 2000s. Growth was slow at first, then accelerated after 2010 and again after 2017. The drivers are familiar across southern Europe: retirement, lifestyle migration, remote work. A smaller but notable share also consists of Canadians with Portuguese ancestry returning through family or citizenship pathways.
This migration is fundamentally different from the earlier Portuguese movement to Canada. It is small in scale, concentrated among adults and retirees, and geographically focused on Lisbon, Porto, and the Algarve. It does not involve large labour recruitment or industrial settlement, and it has not yet produced deep, long-standing institutions.
The numbers reflect this imbalance clearly. According to Portugal's Relatório de Migrações e Asilo 2024, only 2,876 Canadian citizens were legally residing in Portugal at the end of 2024—about 0.027 percent of the total population.
Compare that to Canada: according to the 2021 Canadian Census, 448,310 people reported Portuguese ethnic or cultural origin, representing about 1.2 percent of the entire country. That figure includes both Portuguese-born residents and their descendants, reflecting decades of permanent settlement rather than recent arrivals.
"Portuguese migration to Canada involved large numbers, working-class families, and permanent settlement that reshaped cities and communities over generations. Canadian migration to Portugal is recent, limited, and lifestyle-driven."
Migration: Portugal and the United Kingdom
Portugal and the United Kingdom share one of the oldest continuous diplomatic relationships in the world. That political alliance stretches back to the fourteenth century and has survived wars, regime changes, and shifting global power. Migration between the two countries exists within this long-standing framework, but unlike the Portugal–Canada or Portugal–United States stories, large-scale movement of people is mostly modern and shaped by economic forces rather than history.
Portuguese migration to the United Kingdom is a relatively recent phenomenon. Small numbers arrived before the 1990s, but large-scale movement began only after Portugal joined the European Economic Community in 1986. Membership fundamentally changed the structural conditions of migration. The right to free movement within the European Union made the UK an accessible labour market, and migration accelerated sharply in the late 1990s and early 2000s as Britain's service economy expanded.
Portuguese Communities in Britain
This migration had a distinctive geographic profile. Large numbers of migrants came from Madeira, the Azores, and northern and central mainland Portugal. Madeirans, in particular, became highly visible in London and the South East. Portuguese communities concentrated in areas such as Stockwell and Lambeth in London, across Greater London suburbs, in parts of South East England, and in several Midlands towns. Compared to North America, these communities were more dispersed and developed fewer long-standing institutions.
The character of the migration was shaped by work. Most migrants were of working age, and many initially viewed their move as temporary. Employment clustered in hospitality, cleaning, construction, food processing, retail, and other labour-intensive sectors. Over time, short stays often became longer ones, and family networks formed. By the late 2010s, Portuguese nationals were among the larger EU-origin populations in the UK. The growth was rapid, but the community did not develop the same multi-generational depth seen in older Portuguese diasporas. Brexit marked a clear turning point, slowing new arrivals and altering legal status for those already present.
British Migration to Portugal
British migration to Portugal follows a different and older logic. British presence in Portugal dates back centuries through merchants, diplomats, and wine traders, particularly in Porto. These were elite and commercial links rather than mass settlement. Large-scale civilian migration began only after the 1980s and expanded significantly in the 1990s and 2000s, enabled by EU freedom of movement.
The drivers were not labour demand but lifestyle: retirement, climate, cost of living, healthcare access, and property ownership drew British citizens south. British residents concentrated heavily in the Algarve, Lisbon, Porto, and the Silver Coast. In some Algarve towns, British nationals became one of the most visible foreign groups. This migration tended to involve older, middle- to upper-income individuals who often owned property and stayed long term, even if not permanently. It produced British schools, clubs, newspapers, and service businesses tailored to this population.
The numbers underline how asymmetrical this relationship is, even though both flows are significant. Estimates suggest that around 400,000 to 500,000 people of Portuguese origin live in the United Kingdom, including both Portuguese-born residents and those of Portuguese descent. With a UK population of roughly 67 million, this represents approximately 0.6 to 0.75 percent of the total population.
By comparison, around 47,000 to 50,000 UK citizens live in Portugal—roughly 0.44 percent of the country's population. While this is a smaller absolute number than the Portuguese community in the UK, it is highly concentrated geographically and socially, giving it an outsized local presence in specific regions.
Brexit disrupted the balance, slowing Portuguese labour migration to the UK while making British residence in Portugal more regulated. Portugal's comparatively flexible post-Brexit approach helped preserve the British presence more than in many other EU countries.
"This is not a classic diaspora story rooted in nineteenth-century emigration or post-war reconstruction. It is a modern European mobility story shaped by EU integration, labour demand, retirement migration, and Brexit."
Migration: Portugal and Ireland
Portugal and Ireland share a quieter, less visible relationship than Portugal's ties with countries like the UK, Canada, or the United States. Yet it is a relationship with deep historical roots and a distinctly modern migration layer shaped by European integration. Movement between the two countries is bidirectional, but it remains small in scale and clearly asymmetrical, with more Portuguese moving to Ireland than Irish moving to Portugal, driven primarily by economic opportunity and EU free movement.
Historical links between Portugal and Ireland stretch back to the medieval period. Irish pilgrims travelled to Portuguese religious sites centuries ago, and trade routes connected Irish exports of fish, beef, wool, and timber with Portuguese wine, ceramics, textiles, and metal goods. These exchanges created familiarity and cultural awareness, but they did not result in mass settlement. Formal diplomatic relations were established in 1942, laying the groundwork for modern cooperation rather than migration.
Portuguese Migration to Ireland
Portuguese migration to Ireland is a relatively recent development. Small numbers arrived during the twentieth century, often as part of broader European mobility, but sustained migration only began after Portugal joined the European Community in 1986. Even then, growth was gradual until the 2000s, when Ireland's economic expansion during the Celtic Tiger period transformed the country into a destination for European workers. Migration accelerated further in the 2010s, particularly after 2016, as Ireland's labour market continued to expand while remaining fully open under EU free movement rules.
Most Portuguese migrants to Ireland come from mainland Portugal, especially from urban areas such as Lisbon and Porto, as well as from northern and central regions. Unlike migration to the UK, representation from the Azores and Madeira is limited. Settlement patterns reflect Ireland's economic geography. The majority of Portuguese residents live in Dublin and its surrounding suburbs, with smaller concentrations in Cork, Galway, and, through cross-border labour dynamics, in parts of Northern Ireland such as Portadown and Dungannon.
The social profile of this migration is largely economic. Portuguese migrants are typically working-age adults and families seeking better employment prospects. Many initially plan temporary stays but remain longer as opportunities and family networks develop. Employment spans manufacturing and food processing, hospitality and services, construction, retail, and increasingly technology and customer support roles that value multilingual skills.
In numerical terms, the community remains modest. Approximately 2,739 Portuguese citizens reside in Ireland, accounting for roughly 0.05 percent of the population.
Irish Migration to Portugal
Movement in the opposite direction follows a different logic. Irish migration to Portugal has historical traces but no tradition of large-scale settlement. Modern civilian migration is a post-2000 phenomenon that gained momentum in the 2010s and early 2020s. The drivers are not labour demand but lifestyle considerations: climate, cost of living, quality of life, healthcare access, remote work, retirement, and second-home ownership. EU free movement made this transition simple, and Portugal's residency frameworks further encouraged long-term stays.
Irish residents in Portugal tend to cluster in specific regions. The Algarve attracts retirees and families, while Lisbon and its surrounding areas appeal to professionals and remote workers. Porto, the Silver Coast, and other coastal regions also host growing Irish communities. Socially, this migration spans a range of ages but leans toward middle-aged professionals, families, and retirees with stable incomes and property investments.
Around 5,800 Irish citizens were registered as residents in Portugal in 2023—about 0.054 percent of Portugal's population.
When the two flows are compared, the pattern is clear. Portuguese migration to Ireland is labour and opportunity driven, EU-dependent, urban, and modest in scale but growing. Irish migration to Portugal is lifestyle oriented, retirement and remote-work focused, slightly larger in absolute numbers, and highly visible in specific regions despite its small demographic weight. Neither flow has the generational depth of older Portuguese diasporas.
This relationship matters because it represents an emerging European mobility story rather than a traditional emigration narrative. It reflects economic complementarity, cultural affinity, and the practical effects of shared EU membership.
Migration: Portugal and South Africa
Portugal and South Africa share a relationship shaped less by modern mobility and more by centuries of exploration, empire, and decolonization. Unlike Portugal's links with EU partners, this is a post-colonial migration story marked by deep historical entanglement and a strongly asymmetrical flow of people. Large-scale Portuguese settlement in South Africa unfolded over much of the twentieth century and produced a multi-generational community. Movement in the opposite direction is far more recent, smaller, and driven by lifestyle, safety, and investment considerations.
Portuguese contact with southern Africa dates back to the late fifteenth century, when explorers such as Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco da Gama charted the coastline on routes to Asia. These early encounters laid commercial and strategic foundations but did not immediately result in settlement. Sustained migration only began in the early twentieth century, primarily from Madeira, as Portuguese families sought economic opportunity beyond Europe. This early Madeiran migration would later become a defining feature of the Portuguese presence in South Africa.
Post-War and Post-Colonial Migration
After the Second World War, migration expanded. Mainland Portuguese arrived from the 1940s through the 1980s, attracted by South Africa's growing economy and relative stability at a time when Portugal remained poor and authoritarian. The largest and most consequential wave came after 1975. The Carnation Revolution ended Portugal's dictatorship and empire, leading to the rapid independence of Angola and Mozambique. Hundreds of thousands of people of Portuguese origin were displaced from those former colonies. A significant number resettled in South Africa, arriving as refugees and returnees with colonial ties to southern Africa rather than to mainland Portugal itself.
As a result, the Portuguese community in South Africa has diverse origins. Early migrants came largely from Madeira. Later arrivals included mainland Portuguese and people from Angola and Mozambique, both white and black, who identified culturally or socially as Portuguese. Settlement concentrated in major urban centres. Johannesburg became the heart of the community, particularly areas such as Rosettenville, often referred to as Little Portugal. Cape Town developed its own Portuguese hubs, including Woodstock, known locally as Little Madeira. Pretoria, Durban, and parts of the East Rand also host long-standing communities.
Economically, Portuguese migration to South Africa was family-based and permanent. Early work focused on horticulture, fishing, and small retail. Over time, this shifted toward entrepreneurship. Portuguese South Africans became prominent as shop owners, restaurateurs, contractors, and small business operators. The community is now deeply integrated and multi-generational, with Portuguese schools, clubs, churches, and festivals maintaining cultural continuity. Well-known businesses, including international brands such as Nando's, trace their origins to Portuguese South African entrepreneurship.
The Numbers in South Africa
Estimating the size of this community depends on how it is measured. Official figures record around 7,600 people born in Portugal currently residing in South Africa—only about 0.01 percent of South Africa's population of roughly 61 million. However, these numbers significantly understate the historical impact of migration.
Broader community estimates suggest between 200,000 and 500,000 people of Portuguese descent live in South Africa today. Using conservative ancestry estimates places the community at around 0.33 percent of the population, while higher estimates approach 0.8 percent. By any measure, this is one of the largest Portuguese diasporas outside Europe.
South Africans Moving to Portugal
Movement in the opposite direction tells a very different story. There was no significant South African settlement in Portugal during the colonial or apartheid periods. Although the two countries were politically aligned in the late twentieth century through shared opposition to communism, these ties did not translate into migration to Portugal. Instead, the Carnation Revolution and decolonization prompted Portuguese movement out of Africa rather than South African movement into Europe.
South African migration to Portugal is a twenty-first-century phenomenon. It began to grow slowly in the 2010s and accelerated after the COVID period. The drivers are primarily personal rather than economic necessity. Safety concerns, political uncertainty, and declining public services in South Africa have pushed families to look abroad. Portugal offers political stability, relatively affordable living, a mild climate, access to the Schengen area, and pathways through residency programs and ancestry claims. Remote work and retirement have further widened the appeal.
South African residents in Portugal are concentrated in specific regions. The Algarve attracts families and retirees seeking a resort-style environment. Lisbon and its surrounding areas draw professionals, entrepreneurs, and remote workers. Porto and the Silver Coast appeal to those seeking culture and lower costs.
In numerical terms, this flow remains modest. Recent data suggests between 10,000 and 12,500 South African-born residents live in Portugal—roughly 0.10 percent of Portugal's population. While small compared to the Portuguese presence in South Africa, it is highly visible in certain locations and growing steadily.
"Portuguese migration to South Africa unfolded over decades, involved large numbers, and produced deep generational roots shaped by colonial history and decolonization. South African migration to Portugal is recent, smaller, and oriented around lifestyle, safety, and investment."
Migration: Portugal and Australia
Portugal and Australia share a relationship that blends distant maritime history with post-war migration and a small but growing modern reverse flow. Unlike Portugal's ties with Europe or parts of Africa, this connection developed slowly and largely outside colonial frameworks. Migration has been overwhelmingly one-directional for most of the twentieth century, with Portuguese communities taking root in Australia after World War II, followed more recently by a modest movement of Australians to Portugal driven by lifestyle and investment considerations.
Claims of Portuguese contact with Australia date back to the early sixteenth century, based on maps and voyages from the Age of Discoveries. While these claims remain debated and did not lead to settlement, they form part of a long narrative linking Portugal to the wider Indo-Pacific world. Actual migration began much later. Small numbers of Portuguese sailors and traders appeared in Australia in the early nineteenth century, and by 1901 the census recorded just over three hundred residents born in Portugal. These early presences were scattered and limited in scale.
Post-War Settlement in Australia
The decisive phase of Portuguese migration to Australia began after World War II. From the 1950s onward, Australia's expanding post-war economy and immigration policies coincided with economic hardship and limited opportunity in Portugal. Migration accelerated through the 1960s, 1970s, and into the 1980s. Madeira played a central role in this movement, supplying a large share of early migrants, followed by arrivals from the Azores and mainland Portugal. Smaller numbers also came via former Portuguese territories, including Timor-Leste and parts of Africa.
Portuguese settlement in Australia concentrated in specific urban and industrial regions. Sydney became the largest hub, hosting around forty percent of the community, particularly in areas such as Petersham and Marrickville, where Portuguese festivals, restaurants, and social clubs remain visible. Melbourne developed a second major centre, especially in inner suburbs like Richmond. Other communities formed in Perth, Wollongong in the Illawarra region, Adelaide, and parts of regional Australia.
The social character of this migration was stable and family-oriented. Most migrants arrived as working-age adults seeking long-term security. Early employment was concentrated in agriculture, market gardening, fishing, manufacturing, and construction. Over time, many moved into small business ownership, hospitality, and professional roles. Portuguese food culture became a visible part of Australia's culinary landscape, and Portuguese language education and community festivals reinforced intergenerational identity. Today, the community is well integrated and largely multi-generational, with second and third generations forming the majority.
According to the 2021 Australian Census, around 17,050 residents were born in Portugal. A much larger group—about 73,900 people—reported Portuguese ancestry. With Australia's population at roughly 27.2 million, those of Portuguese ancestry represent about 0.27 percent. Migration peaked decades ago, and recent inflows are comparatively low, indicating a mature and aging diaspora rather than a rapidly expanding one.
Australians Moving to Portugal
Movement in the opposite direction is far more recent and much smaller. Australians did not migrate to Portugal in meaningful numbers during the twentieth century. Formal diplomatic relations between the two countries were only established in 1960, and interactions remained largely diplomatic and commercial. Modern Australian migration to Portugal began to appear in the 2010s and gained momentum after the pandemic, shaped by global mobility rather than historical ties.
The drivers of Australian migration to Portugal are familiar across Southern Europe: climate, quality of life, cost of living, and lifestyle appeal, alongside remote work and retirement planning. Investment and residency options, including tax regimes and visa pathways for non-EU citizens, have made relocation feasible despite Australia's distance.
Australians in Portugal tend to cluster in the Algarve, particularly in towns such as Lagos and Faro, where coastal living and established expatriate services are appealing. Lisbon and Cascais attract professionals and families, while Porto and the Silver Coast draw those seeking culture and affordability.
In numerical terms, this flow remains very small. Official data indicate that around 1,160 Australian citizens were resident in Portugal at the end of 2024—roughly 0.01 percent of Portugal's population. The contrast with the Portuguese community in Australia is stark, both in absolute numbers and in demographic depth.
This relationship matters because it illustrates a quieter strand of Portugal's global migration story. It sits outside colonial legacies and EU free movement and instead reflects post-war migration patterns and modern globalization.
Migration: Portugal and New Zealand
Portugal and New Zealand sit at opposite ends of the world, and their migration relationship reflects that distance. While there are speculative historical links tied to the Age of Discoveries, formal diplomatic relations are modern and migration between the two countries has always been minimal. What exists is a small, asymmetrical pattern shaped by early maritime movement, long periods of near inactivity, and a very recent, niche form of lifestyle migration in both directions.
Claims of Portuguese contact with New Zealand sometimes surface in discussions of sixteenth-century exploration, with theories suggesting Portuguese sailors may have sighted the islands in the 1520s. These claims remain unproven and are generally treated as historical curiosity rather than established fact. What is clear is that actual Portuguese settlement in New Zealand began much later and on a very small scale. In the nineteenth century, Portuguese sailors and workers arrived between roughly 1826 and 1886, often via whaling ships or broader European maritime routes.
Early Portuguese Settlers
These early migrants came from mainland Portugal as well as the Azores, Madeira, and the Cape Verde Islands. They were primarily seafarers, whalers, and laborers, drawn by maritime work rather than organised migration schemes. Settlement was scattered. Portuguese arrivals integrated into wider European communities in coastal areas, including around Auckland and Wellington, as well as near early whaling stations in both the North and South Islands. Unlike the Portuguese experience in Australia or South Africa, no concentrated ethnic enclaves emerged.
Over time, these settlers transitioned into farming, fishing, and urban trades. The community remained small, highly assimilated, and institution-light. Portuguese identity persisted quietly through family lines rather than through churches, clubs, or formal organisations. There were no major twentieth-century migration waves, and Portuguese migration to New Zealand never developed the generational momentum seen elsewhere.
The scale of this presence remains extremely limited. Census data from 2023 records around 528 people living in New Zealand who were born in Portugal. Broader figures capturing ethnicity or ancestry suggest approximately 1,365 people identify as Portuguese or of Portuguese descent. Against a national population of about 5.3 million, this makes New Zealand one of the smallest Portuguese diaspora destinations worldwide.
New Zealanders Moving to Portugal
Movement in the opposite direction is even smaller and entirely modern. There is no history of New Zealanders settling in Portugal prior to the twenty-first century. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in the mid-twentieth century, and interactions remained limited to diplomacy, trade, and multilateral cooperation. Only in the 2010s did a small number of New Zealanders begin to move to Portugal, driven by global mobility trends rather than bilateral migration ties.
The reasons mirror those seen among other long-distance migrants to southern Europe: climate, lifestyle, cultural interest, and relative affordability, alongside visa accessibility for non-EU citizens. Remote work, retirement planning, and investment-based residency options have made Portugal viable for a small number of New Zealanders seeking a European base. Interest increased modestly after COVID, although Portugal remains a niche destination compared to Australia, the UK, or North America.
New Zealand residents in Portugal tend to cluster in familiar expatriate hubs. The Algarve attracts retirees and lifestyle-focused migrants, while Lisbon, Cascais, and Porto draw professionals and digital workers.
Official data underscores just how limited this flow is. In 2021, Portugal recorded only 101 New Zealand nationals legally resident in the country—roughly 0.001 percent of the population. Even allowing for undercounting of temporary or seasonal residents, the overall scale remains negligible.
When the flows are compared, the asymmetry is clear but modest in absolute terms. Portuguese migration to New Zealand has nineteenth-century roots and a slightly larger historical footprint, though it never expanded beyond a few thousand people including descendants. New Zealand migration to Portugal is newer, even smaller, and driven by lifestyle choice rather than labour or displacement.
"This relationship matters not because of scale, but because it illustrates the outer edge of Portugal's global migration network."
Conclusion: A Story of Reciprocity
Looking across all these relationships, a clear pattern emerges. For generations, Portuguese people built communities throughout the English-speaking world. They arrived as workers, families, and builders of lasting institutions. They contributed to economies, cultures, and societies that welcomed them.
Now, the movement is beginning to flow both ways. English-speaking migrants arrive in Portugal seeking many of the same things Portuguese emigrants once sought abroad: stability, opportunity, quality of life, and a future for their families.
The numbers remain uneven. The historical weight still tilts heavily toward Portuguese emigration. But the principle of openness and mutual benefit runs in both directions. Understanding that history makes it easier to appreciate what Portugal is extending today and what English-speaking countries extended before.
