Nationals of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP) will have their long-term visas expire by June 30, 2024, the authorities have announced.
The decision was announced by the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA), and affects nationals of nine countries who obtained such permits in March 2023, as part of the mobility agreement signed by Portugal, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
AIMA informed that nationals that have expiring residence permits are being informed about the new measure and the opportunities of extending their residence permits by email.
Nationals of CPLP Countries to Enjoy Their Permits For Another 3 Months Thanks to COVID-19 Decree Law
The Agency has also revealed that although permits for these nationals are not being extended, they remain valid until June 30.
This decision falls within the legal framework of a decree-law that deals with exceptional and temporary measures concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. This law, introduced in March 2020 and updated since then, extends the validity of documents and visas related to long stays in Portugal until June 30, 2024, and sets out other conditions.
Documents and visas relating to stay in national territory, whose validity expires from the date of entry into force of this decree-law or in the 15 days immediately preceding, are accepted, under the same terms, until June 30, 2024.
Previously, several government officials had mentioned a solution to renew visas for these nationalities but there have not been any official releases until now.
CPLP nationals that want to obtain a residence permit online, must have expressed interest in obtaining the document by December 2022, or have a CPLP residence consular visa issued after October 2022.
CPLP Nationals Impact Population Growth in Portugal
According to LUSa, more than 93,000 nationals from CPLP countries have obtained residence permits in one month alone.
The majority of these permits were issued to Brazilians (86.5 per cent of the total), followed by Angolans (3.8 per cent). Besides Portugal, Angola and Brazil, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe and East Timor are members of the CPLP.
This measure has impacted the population growth in Portugal, with 2022 marking the seventh consecutive year with more inhabitants in the EU country. Brazilians, being the largest foreign nationality group in the country, grew the most. By the end of 2022, there were 233,138 Brazilians living in Portugal, representing some three per cent of the Portuguese population.
