1/8
Karolina Pinheiro, here with her dog Fé (to German belief), said goodbye to Zurich last year.
Camille KündigEditor Sunday view
“I already miss the Züri dialect,” says Karolina Pinheiro (29), who has been living on Portugal’s Silver Coast for a year. SonntagsBlick accompanied the Portuguese, who grew up in Switzerland, in the winter of 2021 when she was stacking moving boxes in her small apartment in Zurich-Wollishofen for her new start in her parents’ home country.
A year later, looking back, Pinheiro does not regret her decision: “I lead a team of seven in the audit department, I can be on the beach in 15 minutes, and my baker knows exactly what kind of bread I want. And, most importantly, I see my whole family regularly.”
Longing won over the former doctor’s secretary. “The pandemic and travel restrictions have made me realize that I want to live close to my grandparents, cousins and aunts.” Two other young Portuguese people who emigrated from Switzerland work in her team. “My colleague from the canton of Uri packed her bags immediately after completing her apprenticeship.”
Showing «authentic and rural Portugal»
A year ago we also spoke to Gisela Santos (23). Her parents came to Switzerland in the 1980s and made a living in Estavayer-le-Lac in Fribourg. She cleaned apartments, he worked in construction. Their children made school friends. A temporary existence. “My parents’ goal was always to retire in Portugal.”
Santos has been living with them for two years in the Viseu district, 120 kilometers from Porto, surrounded by mountains and rivers. In a house that her parents put all their savings into and built with their own hands. Santos is studying tourism. “The others make fun of my Swiss accent!” laughs Santos. Later she would like to show Swiss people the “authentic and rural Portugal” with her own company. “There are a lot of doors open here for us boys in particular.”
Portugal has long been a poor nation on the European periphery. From the 1980s, Switzerland was a classic immigration country for Portuguese job seekers. But while today’s pensioners with a Portuguese passport mainly work in the construction industry, gastronomy or cleaning and mostly emigrated because they would have to spend every cent on their pension in Switzerland, the younger generation sees future opportunities in Portugal.
Cheap labour, closer than Asia
The country is currently experiencing an economic boom. Unemployment is falling and Portugal is on course for growth despite high raw material and energy prices. Companies from all over Europe want to set up locations in Porto and Lisbon or move their productions there.
The pandemic has given the development a boost: In recent years, supply chains have repeatedly torn to Asia, Portugal is considered safer because it is closer. Swiss companies are also interested in Portugal. The Post recently announced that it would open a new IT development center in Lisbon next year. The yellow giant justifies the step with the shortage of skilled workers in Switzerland.
What is also certain is that the Portuguese work for less wages than the rest of Europe. Numerous companies in Portugal are looking for German-speaking employees for their customer support.
Government attracts emigrants back
Portugal has also invested a lot to make itself attractive. Ten years ago, the government launched the “golden visa”, which offers residence permits in exchange for investments. Since 2019, the “Regressar” (come back) program has been beckoning people to return with a share of the resettlement costs and tax gifts. The condition is permanent employment.
It works. This year the number of Portuguese in Switzerland decreased for the fifth year in a row. According to figures from the Federal Statistical Office, around 6,000 Portuguese left Switzerland in 2014. In 2021 there were almost twice as many.