Angolans in Portugal

Angolans in Portugal form the country's second-largest group of African migrants, after Cape Verdeans. In 2006, official statistics showed 28,854 legal Angolan residents in Portugal. However, this number is likely an underestimate of the true size of the community, as it does not count people of Angolan origin who hold Portuguese citizenship. In 2022 INE counted 179,524 Angolans living in Portugal.

Large-scale migratory flow from Angola to Portugal began in the 1970s, around the time of Angolan independence. However, this early flow consisted largely of retornados, white Portuguese born in Angola. The bulk of mixed-race or black African migrants came later. However, statistics of the Instituto Nacional de Estatística showed that the population of Angolan legal residents did not decrease from 2001 to 2003, but instead grew by 12.6% (from 22,751 to 25,616 people).

The most intense period for migration was in the 1990s. Most Angolans who came to Portugal would come under a tourist visa and overstay, converting into residents and citizens. Others would seek asylum. A sizeable majority of those who did not migrate to Portugal instead migrated to South Africa. Of the migrants, many were either young adults or teenagers. 69.5% of Angolans who migrated to Portugal were male. 76.4% of migrants had some sort of occupation at the time of their asylum interviews. 68.8% of incoming migrants had completed a basic level of education. Existing networks created linkages by which made immigration and transitioning to Portuguese-living easier. Linkages to the Angolan homeland remained strong despite physical detachment, these linkages are especially true when speaking in regards to economic obligations.

In 1998, Law 244/98 in Lisbon was passed allowing for families to reconnect in Portugal. The condition was that the individual that is already residing in Lisbon is supposed to have lived there for at least one year. The individual within Portugal can also petition for his or her family member that lives outside of Portugal. The process to residency for the petitioned family member begins with temporary living status, that can be renewed once it expires. After appealing for additional years, they may be authorized for residency, not depending on the status of the already resident individual who petitioned. This can all take place under the prerequisite that the migrant can provide for family if unemployed. In 2003, Portugal approved the European Council's demand for limitation of family to be nuclear. In 2002, before the demand came into effect, family migration constituted 75% of national immigration.