Maputo, Mozambique

The financial crisis in Europe has brought the largest influx of Portuguese migrants to Mozambique since colonial times. While many Mozambicans fear they will face increased competition for scarce jobs, the new wave of migrants is also creating employment opportunities.

Goncalo Teles Gomes, the Portuguese consul in Maputo, the capital, estimates that 30,000 Portuguese now live in Mozambique, the majority of them in Maputo.

“It is not like it’s an avalanche or an invasion, as it is described sometimes in the media, but we have seen an increase in new registrations of between 30 and 35 percent since 2009,” he said. “One hundred forty new Portuguese migrants arrive every month in Mozambique to stay, but then there are also many Portuguese who fly in and out, working in different kinds of businesses.”