He made these remarks in the municipality of Gavião, in the Portalegre district, where he advocated for stricter government migration policies without abandoning efforts to attract the workforce needed for national economic dynamism.

According to Castro Almeida, the era of “wide-open doors” to immigration did not yield positive results for the country, justifying the imposition of limits on the indiscriminate entry of citizens. However, the Minister rejected the notion that Portugal is closing itself off to the outside world, highlighting the existence of a virtually fast-track channel to welcome anyone who meets the appropriate conditions to join the labour market and has a housing solution in place.

The Economy Minister's stance aligns with statements made by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, who advocated for a strategy focused on the effective and dignified integration of migrants, through access to employment, housing, healthcare, and education, rather than models that foster irregular or uncontrolled migration flows.

Assessing the economic landscape, Castro Almeida highlighted the strong performance of Portugal’s labour market, noting that low unemployment levels and record-high employment figures demonstrate the ongoing need to attract foreign workers to address labour shortages in key economic sectors. These government measures come at a time when managing migration flows and strengthening external border controls remain central to the political debate at both national and European levels.