The extent of corruption involving residency visas has once again surfaced with reports over the weekend that borders control agency SEF legalised two foreigners actively sought by authorities in other countries.
One was a Pakistani national “prohibited from entering Schengen space”, the other was an Indian issued with an expulsion order.
A female SEF inspector detained in the recent crackdown on illegalities that have seen an estimated 6000 visas granted in return for favours (almost always money click here) apparently saw her way to circumnavigate these details and furnish both men with the paperwork they needed.
The controversy has led journalists to an internal inquiry conducted in 2017 that pointed not only to the same female SEF inspector, but to other high-ranking members of the agency, all allegedly engaged in “diverse illegalities in the concession of visas”.
The inquiry suggested up to 9000 visas were involved. But it ended up being archived, writes Diário de Notícias, with two of the staff members allegedly involved receiving promotions to represent Portugal overseas.
As the paper explains, for someone to be issued with an expulsion order (in this case, the order came from Norway), it either means they will have been condemned by a member state for a crime carrying a penalty of at least one year, or there exists “strong reasons to believe the national has practised punishable facts or shows clear signs that he/ she intends to practise those facts on the territory of a member state”.
Journalists inquiries have been stonewalled, DN adds, though centre-right opposition party PSD is now running with this story and demanding “an urgent hearing in parliament”.
