Decision follows government’s ambition for controlled immigration
Portuguese-speaking citizens wishing to enter Portugal on a CPLP visa will have to prove their means of subsistence until they find work.
According to Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities José Cesário entry into Portugal for immigrants from the CPLP will be ‘more demanding’.
In the case of visas for looking for work, ‘the person will have to demonstrate that they have the conditions to subsist in Portugal while they are looking for work’, he said.
Following changes to the Aliens Act, which came into force on 30 October 2022, citizens of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) were offered simplified visas with no requirement to ‘prove means of subsistence’.
Allowing for this, the new government ordinance insists that CPLP citizens will have to present a statement of responsibility from a Portuguese (or foreign national resident) in Portugal guaranteeing subsistence and accommodation.
“What we want is for people who come to Portugal to come with full defence of their rights, but without running into situations of authentic marginalisation, poverty, isolation, which is not good for them and not good for the country”, said Cesário today.
“Portugal, if it needs labour, fine, it uses foreign labour, but it has to guarantee the rights of the people who come; it also doesn’t have its doors wide open for just anyone to come, who is then left to fend for themselves, often without being able to guarantee their livelihood”.
Cesário told Lusa he believes “these changes could result in regulation of this sector and, above all, greater defence of citizens’ rights and also greater defence of the country’s rights”.
CPLP visas will also no longer take precedence over all others.
‘“When the CPLP visa came into being, it towered over all the others. Now we’re implementing an alteration, a change, which is that people can choose whether they want a CPLP visa, or another type of visa”.
If the latter, they can opt for another visa that allows them to move around Europe, for example.
For José Cesário, “the fact that (a citizen) comes from a CPLP country should not oblige them to always have a CPLP visa”.
Indeed, CPLP Residence Permit holders are unable to move within the European Union – and this has been an ‘absolutely recurring complaint’, he added.
“I have been aware of this for a long time. (Thus) this is a change that should be pursued immediately,’ he said, indicating that he had already signed the ordinance that puts the new policy into effect.
The CPLP is made up of Portugal, Cape Verde, Brazil, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola and Mozambique.
Of these countries, São Tomé e Príncipe, Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea have recently been highlighted for welcoming cooperation deals with Russia. Russia is also ‘present’ in Mozambique, and has heavily invested in its military.
Source material: LUSA
