Mozambique: Concern about direct labour hires in Portugal

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Mozambique: Concern about direct labour hires in Portugal

5:44 CAT | 07 Nov 2025

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

Mozambique’s government acknowledged on Friday that it was “concerned” about the hiring of labour for Portugal through unofficial channels, saying it is trying to map workers in that country to ensure they understand their rights, including social security.

“Our biggest concern has to do with this issue of direct hiring. There is a need for admissions or labour mobility to take place under the umbrella of the memorandum or verified conditions, because there is a need for this worker to be aware of what it is like to work in Portugal, what they will find there, so our biggest concern has to do with direct admissions,” said the National Director of Migratory Work, Alice Brito.

The official, speaking today in Maputo during a seminar to disseminate labour legislation to companies with Portuguese investment in Mozambique, said that measures are being put in place to curb “direct admissions” of workers to Portugal and to create conditions for them to be hired through official channels or mechanisms.

Mozambique’s government argues that admissions should be made through employment centres, including contacts with the National Directorate for Migration Work to verify the suitability of the potential employer and the employment contract, to ensure the rights of these professionals, including social security deductions.

“The situation of direct admissions is not normal, which is why I said that we are doing mapping work to have real information, so we are currently mapping to have concrete information about the Mozambicans who are working,” said Alice Brito.

According to the official, Mozambique has a memorandum with Portugal on labour mobility that aims to ensure compliance with legal issues, saying that the survey underway in Portugal will allow Mozambicans to legalise their contracts in that country.

“We are currently mapping these workers, we want to have information on where they are, in what area of activity these Mozambicans are so that, based on this, having this information in the database, we can provide all the necessary assistance, which is assistance linked to this issue of registration in the self-employed social security system and safeguard the social protection of this worker,” said the National Director of Migratory Labour.

Portugal recently approved the new Foreigners’ Law. This instrument limits visas for seeking work to “qualified work”, restricts the possibility of family reunification for foreigners with a residence permit in Portugal – not including refugees – and changes the conditions for granting a residence permit to citizens of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP).

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the meeting, the Portuguese ambassador to Mozambique said that the changes underway to the legislation, including mobility measures, are aimed at providing “protection” to foreign workers in that country.

“We will continue to have a special regime for citizens from the CPLP who have easier procedures to be able to exercise their activity in Portugal, to have a long-term presence more stably. I believe that this should only be seen as a necessary measure given the significant increase in demand for foreign labour, but in no way is it intended to limit or impose artificial restrictions,” said diplomat Jorge Monteiro.

Source: Lusa