Schengen visa: In Portugal, visas are easy to obtain for Portuguese-speaking Africans [2/2]

The issue of immigration is at the heart of debates in European countries. The European Union has just signed the Asylum and Migration Charter. While some countries seek to limit the arrival of foreigners at all costs, others such as Portugal, on the contrary, want to encourage them. Since November 2022, the country has established visa facilities for residents of the Portuguese-speaking Community (CPLP) to come, stay and work there.

Originally, Fernando Furtado, from Cape Verde, arrived in Portugal at the end of the 1980s. After he came looking for work in construction, it took some time to get it right. He notes with a touch of envy the facilities available to new arrivals: “ I have a colleague who works in construction as a mason. It was there for 4 or 5 months and was legalized immediately. Upon his arrival, he obtained his papers, a work contract, and a two-year visa. Two days after his arrival, he was working “.

Portugal has already issued 140,000 of these residence permits. Ana Gomez, Portuguese diplomat and politician: “ The priority for the Portuguese was to legalize the status of many workers in Portugal who were in an irregular situation. This is of course also in the interest of some sectors in Portugal that really need workers. This is of course the case for the agricultural, construction and other sectors. “.

Violation according to the European Commission

These immigrants come from Brazil, but also from Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa such as Angola or Mozambique. In Sao Tome and Principe, UNDP studied this phenomenon with nearly 20,000 candidates. Visa applications to Portugal have doubled there since the establishment of this facility.

Luca Monge Ruffarello is the economist who conducted this study: “ This represents 8 to 9 % of the population, which is a huge percentage. For this reason, in the United Nations Development Program (United Nations Development Programme), we immediately looked into this issue. We have done a preliminary assessment, but we also want to look at this from a systemic perspective, because this may pose challenges from a development perspective. For example, we are very concerned about brain drain and the impact this can have on health, on the education system, and even on the private sector. But on the other hand, it can also create opportunities through remittances from the diaspora or a closer exchange of skills with successful people from the diaspora. “.

The European Commission opened infringement proceedings against Portugal. It considers that this residence permit conflicts with the unified model of the Schengen Area and requests Portugal to address these shortcomings.

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