Between January and November of this year, Portugal issued four times as many work visas to citizens of Cape Verde.

During this time, Portugal issued 6,208 work visas for Cape Verdeans, according to data from the Portuguese embassy in Praia. Of these, 3,932 were given for job searching, and 2,276 were given for seasonal or subordinate work.

12,549 different kinds of long-term visa applications were filed by Cape Verdean nationals between January and November of this year. Of these, 394 applications were turned down, mostly because the applicants had a criminal record, had submitted falsified paperwork, or had committed employer fraud.

Six,208 visas have been issued for work, 3,975 for study and training, 623 for family reunions, and 615 for medical reasons.

During the previous five years, the embassy reported a steady “continued growth” in the number of visas issued, averaging about 30% annually. This increase was ascribed to a number of factors, including legislative modifications made to the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries’ (CPLP) mobility framework. These modifications included the full adoption of new visa typologies, like the work search visa.

Portugal issued 4,948 work visas for Cape Verdean citizens between January and August of this year alone. This is a notable increase from the 4,888 work-related visas that Portugal issued over the course of the previous four years.

Apart from extended visas, 14,857 Schengen visa applications (up to 90 days) were filed by Cape Verdeans between January and November of 2023. 11,610 of these, the embassy said, were accepted.

11,371 of the 15,710 visa applications from Cape Verdeans that Portugal received in 2022 were granted. After Angolan nationals, Cape Verdeans were the nation with the second-highest number of countries applying for visas to Portugal. With 844 rejections per 100,000 people, Cape Verde, however, topped the list of nations with the highest per capita rate of Schengen visa denials in 2022.