Number of Portuguese nurses emigrating to UK soaring

The number of nurses emigrating from Portugal to the UK increased by a huge 500 per cent between 2010 and 2013, according to researcher Claudia Pereira.

In 2010, the UK’s main nursing organisation received 250 nurses from Portugal, but that number shot up to 1,211 in 2013. Pereira explained that nursing is the only profession in which people leave the Iberian country and have the selection, application, qualifications and lodging processes completely dealt with by Portuguese authorities.

She noted that emigration to Britain was varied as the majority of people who move to the UK were unqualified and had a maximum of 12 years of schooling behind them. However, she noted that there was also now a significant number of highly qualified individuals making the trip.

Pereira said that many of the emigrants take jobs working in London restaurants, or in livestock or agriculture in other parts of the country. She pointed out that it was often difficult for them to succeed in the English capital as they could become “invisible” among the city’s 10 million residents.

However, she explained that many Portuguese people who emigrated in the 1980s and 90s and still work in restaurants or cleaning, generally outside London, were now “very visible” as there were shops and cafes with Portuguese names sprouting up in many places.