Brazil: Portugal reinforces consular posts and announces new visa

The Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities, Paulo Cafôfo announced that the Portuguese Government will reinforce the consular posts in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo to respond to “Portuguese and Portuguese-descendants who want to acquire nationality and Brazilian citizens who intend to live or work in Portugal”

 

 

During his recent visit to Brazil, the Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities, Paulo Cafôfo, announced to the press that the Portuguese Government will reinforce the consular posts in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, to respond to all Portuguese and Portuguese citizens descendants who live in that country and intend to obtain Portuguese nationality, and also Brazilian citizens who intend to live or work in Portugal.

According to data released by the Foreigners and Borders Service – SEF – around 700 thousand foreigners live in Portugal (at the end of 2022), with the Brazilian community leading the ranking: at the end of last year, 233,138 Brazilian citizens lived in Portugal. The trend of this migratory flow is growing, and that is the reason why the Portuguese Government, through the Secretariat of State for Communities, invested in strengthening consular posts in the two largest cities in Brazil.

“This reinforcement aims to respond to the needs that we see, whether of Portuguese and Portuguese descendants who want to acquire their nationality, or of citizens of Brazil who want to live or work in Portugal”, underlined Paulo Cafôfo in statements to the Lusa agency.

The Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities also announced, during his visit to Brazil, the creation of a visa of limited duration that allows the legal entry of immigrants in Portugal who aim to look for work.

The largest consular network in Portugal is found in Brazil, where there are 10 consular structures, in addition to 21 honorary consulates. “What we want to do is improve the functioning of these new services, adapting the services of the Portuguese State to the needs of the Portuguese community, but also to the needs of Brazilian citizens who want to go to Portugal”, said the Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities.

According to official data, around one million Portuguese and Portuguese descendants currently reside in Brazil, to which more than 5 million citizens would have a grandfather or great-grandfather with Portuguese nationality. Remember that according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, the Brazilian population is close to 216 million people.