movimentos secundários
Published 5 November 2026, 23:09
movimentos secundários (secondary movements)
An EU and police term for cases where a person enters the EU in one country, does not obtain legal status there and moves on to another — for example, from the Netherlands, Belgium or France to Portugal, and sometimes further still, to northern Europe or Ireland.
Where you come across it. Police statements about checks at railway stations and bus terminals; EU documents on the reception of people seeking protection.
The term has nothing to do with ordinary travel around Europe by people living in Portugal: it refers to people who have no legal basis for being where they are now. The police give no figures for Portugal — on 13 September 2026 the head of UNEF said only that such movements ‘seem to be increasing’.
Official website: psp.pt