British Residents in Portugal: Over 27,000 Residence Permits issued

The government announced on Tuesday that 91.4 percent of the 27,080 British citizens residing in Portugal had been granted their residence permit in the past four months, bringing the total number of permits issued by February to 27,080.

The ministries of Internal Administration and Justice, along with the secretaries of State for Digitisation and Administrative Modernisation and European Affairs, issued a joint statement declaring that the British citizens who were notified in 2022 to schedule the collection of their biometric data have been granted a residence permit in Portugal.

As stated in the announcement, Portugal has put in place various measures to ensure that British citizens and their families who were residing in the country on 31^st December 2020 can avail the rights granted by the agreement regarding the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union (Brexit).

The same statement said that following a successful pilot phase of residence card issuance carried out by the SEF – The Immigration and Border Service in the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira, with a 95% approval rate for requested permits, and in order to address the delays caused by the covid-19 pandemic on public services, other public entities, such as the Institute of Registration and Notary Affairs and Citizen Spaces, were granted the authority to issue and renew residence permits as of August 2022.

The government has also announced that there are currently 28 service points available, with particular emphasis on the Algarve region, which has 10 locations due to the significant presence of the British community. Furthermore, arrangements have been made to provide SEF mobile teams to the homes of citizens who are unable to travel due to physical disabilities.

According to the joint statement, the service is entirely dependent on the beneficiaries themselves making appointments. It was also noted that 33,637 British residents have already scheduled appointments, and of those who have attended, 93.4% have already obtained their residence permits.