650 Students Who Escaped Ukraine May Lose Residency—Portuguese MPs Offer Lifeline

Socialist lawmakers move to safeguard foreign students who fled Ukraine

Parliamentary motion aims to keep temporary protection in place

A group of MPs from Portugal’s Socialist Party (PS) announced on Tuesday that they will table an urgent resolution calling on the government to maintain temporary protection for hundreds of non-Ukrainian students who escaped Russia’s invasion and resettled in Portugal.

Why the issue has resurfaced

• When the European Union triggered the Temporary Protection Directive in March 2022, Portugal granted the same legal status to all people who had been living or studying in Ukraine—regardless of their nationality.• The Interior Ministry is now studying whether to narrow eligibility next year to Ukrainian citizens only.• Around 650 third-country nationals, many from Portuguese-speaking African nations as well as India and Morocco, could lose the right to reside, work and receive social support if the change goes ahead, according to figures released by the Immigration and Asylum Agency (AIMA).

What the Socialists intend to do

PS deputies will use Wednesday’s plenary session to introduce a draft resolution that urges the executive to:

Continue applying temporary protection until the EU mechanism expires (currently set for March 2025).

Automatically renew residence permits for those already covered.

Guarantee access to universities, healthcare and the labour market while the war persists.

“Sending these young people back to countries that often lack the means to readmit them safely, or forcing them to start a conventional visa process in the middle of their studies, would be both unfair and contrary to the spirit of European solidarity,” said MP Joana Sá Pereira, one of the proposal’s signatories, at a press briefing in São Bento.

EU background

The European Commission extended the Temporary Protection Directive to 4 March 2025, citing continued hostilities in Ukraine and large-scale displacement. Each member state can decide whether to include non-Ukrainian residents of Ukraine; most—Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, for example—opted to do so. Portugal initially followed that broader approach, issuing more than 57,000 temporary protection permits, of which roughly 1% went to third-country students.

Universities and NGOs back the PS stance

The Council of Portuguese Universities warned that pulling the permits would jeopardise academic paths already disrupted by war. Human-rights group Plataforma de Apoio aos Refugiados added that many of the students are enrolled in Portuguese language courses and have part-time jobs, calling them “well on their way to integration.”

Government response so far

Interior Minister Margarida Blasco told reporters last week that no final decision has been made and promised to “balance humanitarian responsibilities with migration rules.” She stressed that anyone still facing danger in their home country could apply for asylum individually, but critics argue that process is slower and less predictable than the current blanket protection.

What happens next

• The PS resolution is non-binding but, if approved, increases political pressure on the minority centre-right government.• Parliamentary committees on constitutional affairs and on education are expected to summon AIMA officials and university rectors for hearings before year-end.• A definitive government order on the scope of protection is due in early 2026, shortly before the EU framework is scheduled for another review.

Until then, students such as 24-year-old Mozambican medical trainee Leonor Mucave can only wait. “We escaped bombs and found safety in Portugal,” she said outside Lisbon’s Nova Medical School. “Now we just want to finish our degrees without fearing deportation.”