The new platform for obtaining residence permits in Portugal for citizens of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) under the mobility agreement between the member states of the organization was presented today by the Aliens and Borders Service (SEF) in a ceremony that took place at the Ministry of Interior Administration.
In addition to CPLP immigrants, whose procedures are pending at the SEF until December 2022, citizens with CPLP visas issued by Portuguese consulates after October 31, 2022 can also obtain a residence permit “fully automatically and ‘online’,” the explained Country Director of the SEF.
Fernando Silva noted that this measure has a “maximum reach of 150,000 citizens”, which is in line with the visas and expressions of interest issued at the SEF until December 2022, but could translate to a lower number as many of them may already have left Portugal .
The same official explained that starting Monday, these citizens will be able to access the “CPLP portal” and apply for a residence permit through the SEF and ePortugal.gov websites.
The director emphasized that these residency permits are “exclusively ‘online’, requiring no other type of interaction with the service or physical travel to a service point.”
In the case of minors involved in the authentication process, however, it is necessary to “then go to an SEF service point”.
According to the same official, the residence permit for CPLP immigrants costs 15 euros, and it will take “usually 72 hours” for this document to be available in an electronic model.
Fernando Silva explained that, in a second phase, this procedure will be extended to CPLP citizens who are in Portugal and have not yet applied for a residence permit from the SEF or who have done so after January 2023.
The SEF director also said that the “CPLP portal” for obtaining residency permits will only be available on the ePortugal.gov website in the near future.
The same officer stressed that since the SEF already has access to all citizen data previously entered into the system, the data verification is automatic, which is “a much faster, safer and simpler process”, which is very clear and in which the die to be provided by the applicant Information is very limited.
CPLP citizens wishing to come to Portugal henceforth no longer need to contact the SEF, but only need to go to the Portuguese consular posts in their home countries to obtain a visa for Portugal.
According to the SEF, the residence permit under the CPLP mobility agreement is initially valid for one year and can be extended twice in a row for two years.
An SEF source told Lusa that CPLP immigrants with pending cases are mostly Brazilians who submitted expressions of interest (at the SEF formalized application for obtaining) between 2021 and 2022 on the electronic platform, Automatic PreScheduling System (SAPA). a residence permit).
In addition to Portugal, Cape Verde, Brazil, TimorLeste, GuineaBissau, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola and Mozambique are part of the CPLP.
This process comes at a time when the government is preparing to restructure the SEF, whose immigrationrelated management tasks will be transferred to the Portuguese Agency for Migration and Asylum (APMA).
As part of the reorganisation, which was postponed until the formation of the APMA, the police powers of this body will pass to the PSP, the GNR and the PJ, while the current responsibilities in administrative matters relating to foreign nationals will now be exercised by the APMA and the Institute for registry offices and notaries.
The reorganization of the SEF was decided by the previous government and approved by the Assembly of the Republic in November 2021, having already been postponed twice.