“Digital Equality” for Brazilians and Portuguese
Citizens of Brazilian nationality residing in Portugal will be able to access online the same services as Portuguese citizens in terms of documentation.
The Brazilian community residing in Portugal will have access to a digital document that gives them the “status of digital equality” in relation to Portuguese citizens. The announcement was made a few days ago by the Secretary for Brazilian Communities, Consular and Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Ambassador Leonardo Gorgulho.
Speaking to the press, Leonardo Gorgulho maintained that this digitization process is “very advanced” and that this solution will save time and resources: “It is good for citizens, who will receive their card in less time; it’s good for the consulate, which manages to do the service and dispenses with the person’s trip to the Consulate General in Lisbon and it’s good for the SEF, because it’s a document that will have the security measures they need it to have”.
The idea of this program is to be internal at the Consulate General of Brazil (e-consular) to prevent citizens of Brazilian nationality from traveling in person to request, for example, a certificate, or schedule a passport renewal. It is intended that interested parties register and enter the e-consular and deal with these matters online.
“The document will have a digital format, a key code and a link to verify authenticity. And the Portuguese authorities, through the code and the link, will give the necessary validity”, explained the Secretary of Brazilian Communities, Consular and Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Ambassador Leonardo Gorgulho.
This project will go through a pilot phase of tests and adjustments, until it is made available to all citizens of Brazilian nationality residing in Portugal.
It should be remembered that according to data from the Foreigners and Borders Service, at the end of 2022, 233,138 Brazilians legally resided in Portugal, the main foreign community. These data also indicated that there was an increase of 13% of citizens of Brazilian nationality residing in Portugal in 2022, compared to the year 2021 (in practical terms, it symbolizes an increase of over 28,444 people).
The restructuring of the Foreigns and Borders Service has led to considerable delays in the renewal of Residence Permits and consequently extended validity periods. In addition, part of this entity powers are transferred to the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN). Despite the extinction of the Foreigners and Borders Service being legislated in Decree-Law, the Portuguese Government foresees that the transitional regime of competences will take place until October (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo sucede ao SEF)
