After Brexit, Britons living in Portugal face administrative problems due to their residence permit.
British expats residing in Portugal complain that the temporary document issued to them pending a post-Brexit residence permit is not. Not recognized by third country authorities and even by some Portuguese public servicesAn association representing them told AFP Monday.
Among the cases reported by the Association of Britons in Portugal, its co-chair, Tig James, mentioned a case Two people are temporarily detained at an airport in Germany and that fromA woman denied entry to the Netherlands.
According to Ms James, who represents her compatriots in Portugal in the League of Britons in Europe, “Portugal is the only country that has not yet issued biometric residence permits” set out in the Brexit agreement. “Now we have People deprived of health careOr they were arrested at airports, awaiting legal proceedings, or lost their jobs because they were unable to renew their driver’s licence.”she lists.
In response to a question by AFP, a representative of the London government indicated that it had already raised the question with the Portuguese authorities, to ask them to do so. Complete the procedure for issuing biometric residence permits to British citizens living legally in Portugal as soon as possible.
On the Portuguese side, the Service for Foreigners and Borders (SEF) confirms this temporary documents Issued to approximately 35,000 UK residents It remains valid in Portugal and the rest of the European Union.
The problems denounced by the League of Britons in Portugal correspond to “One-time parking, which is not the norm”A spokesperson for the foundation told AFP.
The Portuguese government has been planning since 2021 to dissolve this border police in order to distribute its powers between law enforcement and other public administration services, but the implementation of this reform has suffered many setbacks.
