Portugal Emigration and Immigration

Immigration/Emigration (Imigração/Emigração)
Historically, Portugal has one of the highest emigration rates in the world. The trend reaches back to the 15th century, when Portugal began overseas exploration and colonization. Many Portuguese individuals moved to colonies in Africa, South America, and Pacific archipelagos. In the twentieth century, a large number also settled across the United States, drawn by the shipping trade in New England, California, and Hawaii.

Ship passenger lists, passport registers, emigration proceedings, citizenship papers, registration of foreigners, and similar migration documents can prove a vital link in tracing an individual back to Portugal. Such records may contain the individual's full name, age, civil status, birthplace, former residence, destination, and sometimes race or nationality. They are contained in the National and District Archives, and some have been digitized.

Passenger Lists

 * 1890-1960 Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960 at FindMyPast; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Portugal
 * Ellis Island Passenger Lists, 1892-1956
 * Immigrant Ancestors Project Index of passport registers and ship logs created shortly before individuals emigrated to another country.
 * Immigrant Ships Passenger lists from all over the world. No searchable index.
 * Portuguese Passenger Manifests Index to Portuguese Passenger Manifests in Hawaii. The search bar for the index is placed at the top-right of the page.
 * Portuguese Passenger Ship Master List in U.S. Ports Index taken from major U.S. port records.

Passports

 * 1800-1946 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1834-1966 Portugal, Porto, Passport Registers, 1834-1966 at Arquivo Distrital de Porto, accessed through Tombo.pt.
 * 1834-1967 Portugal, Vila Real, Passport Registers, 1834-1967 at Arquivo Distrital de Vila Real, accessed through Tombo.pt.
 * 1835-1928 Portugal, Viana do Castelo, Passport Registers, 1835-1928 at Arquivo Distrital de Viana do Castelo, accessed through Tombo.pt.
 * 1835-1938 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1839-1944 Portugal, Lisboa, Passport Registers, 1839-1944 at Arquivo Distrital de Lisboa, accessed through Tombo.pt.
 * 1844-1967 Portugal, Bragança, Passport Registers, 1844-1967 at Arquivo Distrital de Bragança, accessed through Tombo.pt.
 * 1861-1901 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1868-1965 Portugal, Braga, Passport Registers, 1868-1965 at Arquivo Distrital de Braga, accessed through Tombo.pt.
 * 1872-1910 Portugal, Madeira Passports 1872-1910 at the Madeira Regional Archive.
 * 1872-1910 Portugal, Madeira Passports 1872-1910 at Ancestry; index only ($)
 * 1879-1883 Hawaii Passport Index 1879-1883 Passport index for Hawaii, organized by town/village of origin. Includes immigrants from Portugal, the Azores, and Brazil.
 * 1882-1965 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1882-1965 Portugal, Aveiro, Passport Registers, 1882-1965 at Arquivo Distrital de Aveiro, accessed through Tombo.pt.


 * Immigrant Ancestors Project Index of emigration documents created shortly before individuals emigrated to another country.
 * Portugal, Azores Passports Passports issued from the Azores. To view the records, select the archive (núcleo) holding the records for the island in question.
 * Angra do Heroismo contains records for Terceira, Sao Jorge &amp; Graciosa.
 * Horta contains records for Pico Faial, Flores &amp; Corvo.
 * Ponta Delgada contains records for Sao Miguel &amp; Santa Maria.

Further Information

 * The Family History Library contains many publications on Portuguese migration patterns. To located these books, go to the FamilySearch Catalog, enter "Portugal" into the place-field in the search bar, and select "Emigration and immigration" from the drop-down menu.
 * For information on individuals who migrated from Portugal to Brazil, visit Brazil Emigration and Immigration.
 * Emigração e população em finais do século XIX. A miragem do Brasil no concelho da Meda (1889-1896) Article (in Portuguese) on immigration trends in the late 18th century.
 * Portugal Seeks Balance of Emigration, Immigration Article on modern Portuguese immigration and emigration.

Wiki Articles Describing Online Collections

 * Portugal, Aveiro Passport Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Portugal, Coimbra Passport Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Portugal, Leiria Passport Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Portugal, Passport Registers and Application Files - FamilySearch Historical Records