The contrast between Portugal and Italy has gained prominence among Brazilians aiming for Europe: Portugal is tightening immigration and hindering regularization, while Italy has opened a legal shortcut to work through a work visa aimed at descendants of Italians.
The trigger for this new path is a decree published on November 17th, which releases visas without quota limits for the group served and defines two central requirements: proof of Italian descent and a valid employment contract with an employer in Italy. The design is explicit: the work visa does not grant automatic citizenship and It only remains active while the contract is in effect.
Portugal tightens immigration restrictions and hinders regularization.
The change attributed to Portugal is described as a turning point.
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Instead of opening doors wider, the country is increasing filters and creating new layers of oversight, particularly affecting Brazilians who already live in Portugal or planned to regularize their stay after arriving.
The main effect is legal and practical uncertainty.Because regularization ceases to be a predictable process and becomes dependent on stricter rules and more structured immigration control.
The database lists three key areas of hardening in Portugal:
Stricter rules for residency and regularization.
Creation of a new immigration police force.
Stricter criteria for granting visas and residence permits.
In practice, when Portugal tightens its regularization procedures, the consequence is immediate for those who work or study with tight deadlines: it increases the pressure to have all documents in order and reduces the room for transitions.
This scenario also increases the risk of hasty decisions and offers that promise a quick solution. In a more rigid regulatory environment, document planning becomes the most important asset..
The Italian announcement is described as the opposite of the Portuguese one.
On November 17, the government published a decree that facilitates the granting of work visas to descendants of Italians and eliminates the annual quota limit for this specific group.
According to the official interpretation, Italy has created a legal loophole by enabling access without quotas, provided the candidate meets the defined requirements.
What changes with the removal of quotas is the entry point.
In quota-based policies, candidates compete for a limited number of places per year.
In the aforementioned scenario, the eligible descendant is not included in this dispute. This does not mean unrestricted freedom: The focus shifts to proving descent and the employment contract..
The decree, therefore, is not a generic invitation to immigrate, but rather a legal work channel for a specific profile.
The source also contextualizes the motivation: Italy seeks to address a labor shortage associated with an aging population and a declining birth rate.
This argument explains why the focus is on employment: the work visa is the tool used to attract people who can fill formal job positions.
Mandatory requirements: proof of income and contract, no informal shortcuts.
The basis reduces the requirements to two items, and this is important because it eliminates flexible interpretations. To access the channel through which Italy has opened a legal shortcut, the candidate needs to:
Proof of Italian descent
Valid employment contract with an employer in Italy
Proof of descent acts as an eligibility filter.
The employment contract defines the usefulness of the work visa and its duration, because the visa is only valid while the contractual relationship is in effect.
Without a contract, there is no work visa in this format.even if descendants exist.
Another objective point of the basis is that a work visa does not automatically grant citizenship.
In practical terms, this means that working legally and obtaining citizenship are different paths.
The shortcut described is for employment, not for a passport, and the most common risk is confusing the two in family planning.
Who benefits: seven countries and a specific focus for Brazilians.
The text states that the decree covers citizens of seven countries, including Brazil. In addition to Brazil, the list presented is:
Argentina
United States
Australia
Canada
Venezuela
Uruguay
This distinction defines the geographic entry point for the quota-free work visa, within the descendant channel.
For Brazilians, the advantage is predictability: if a person proves their descent and has a contract, they are not dependent on an annual quota window.
At the same time, the cutback creates a race for document organization and for actual job openings, because the contract becomes the decisive factor.
Essentially, the decree is presented as unprecedented for removing quotas for this group.
The unprecedented nature of the process, however, does not alter the premise: the candidate still needs to fit into a descendant group and fulfill the employment contract, without informal shortcuts.
Citizenship has become more restricted, and this changes the interpretation of the shortcut.
There is an explicit warning at the bottom: despite opening up work visas for descendants, Italy has tightened citizenship rules.
The change described limits the recognition of citizenship only to children and grandchildren of Italians, ending the right for more distant generations that previously could have been accepted.
This detail is crucial because it separates intention from effect. Italy opened a legal shortcut to work, but narrowed the path to citizenship.
In terms of decision-making, the applicant should treat the work visa as authorization for activity and conditional stay, and not as an automatic stepping stone to a passport.
For descendants, this creates a two-tiered scenario:
Employment layer: work visa with contract and validity linked to the employment relationship.
Layer of civil status: citizenship with stricter rules, limited to children and grandchildren.
Confusing citizenship with a work visa is the mistake that generates the most frustration.because the decree does not promise naturalization or broad recognition of generations.
The contrast described is simple in the headline, but technical in its execution.
Portugal tightens immigration and regularization measures, increasing visa and residency requirements and creating a new immigration police force.
Italy, in turn, provides a legal pathway for descendants, with a work visa without quotas, based on proof of ancestry and a contract.
For those evaluating Europe, three operational questions guide the decision-making process based on the underlying principles:
Are there descendants with verifiable documentation, without obvious gaps?
Do you have a valid employment contract with an employer in Italy, and is the employment relationship sufficiently stable?
Does the expectation involve temporary work or citizenship, knowing that citizenship has become more restricted?
If the answer to any item is negative, the risk increases.
If the ruling is positive, the decree creates a clearer path than attempting regularization under stricter rules. Even so, The shortcut is cool, but it’s not automatic.Because it depends on proof and a real contract.
In a scenario where Portugal is tightening immigration restrictions and hindering regularization, the decree of November 17th repositions Italy as an alternative for those of Italian origin who can secure formal employment: Italy has opened a legal shortcut with a work visa that does not include quotas for descendants, requires proof of origin and a contract, and does not grant automatic citizenship.
If you are planning a move to Europe, the most realistic step is to separate your objectives. First, treat the work visa as authorization conditional on the contract.
Then, consider citizenship as distinct process and today it is more restricted, especially for generations beyond children and grandchildren.
In your opinion, has Italy opened a legal shortcut that solves the problems of descendants, or will Portugal’s tightening of regularization push even more Brazilians towards alternative routes within Europe?