“We are calling soon on those who find themselves in a state of disarray in the country due to the pain of July 1, and who may be subject to hostile circumstances, and who are eligible and have not yet applied for residency status,” Bookerinho said at the start of the session, which was clarified through the social networking site Facebook.
The deadline for EU citizens to register is June 30 [EU Settlement Scheme] Opened under the UK’s expulsion from the European Union, allowing Europeans to retain the right to live, work or study in British territory.
An “hostile environment”, the diplomat explained, meant losing access to public health services, social grants and other forms of support or public services.
“All non-British Portuguese who live in the United Kingdom and wish to continue living here in the United Kingdom at the same time must obtain or at least apply for citizenship by June 30,” Christina Bookerinho warned.
According to the Portuguese government, by March 31, 375,000 applications had already been made by Portuguese, more than the number of national citizens with addresses on their citizens’ card in the United Kingdom.
However, the embassy warned of the need for all, including minorities or recently born or adopted children, to obtain residency status, even if the majority had already done so.
“We know of families who have parental status, but do not ask for status for their minor children. They should do so,” he said.
The system is also open to direct dependent family members such as parents outside the United Kingdom or grandchildren or family members from third countries who are not part of the EU.
Immigration lawyer Chris Desira chaired the clarification session, which was promoted by the Portuguese consulate in London and Manchester in collaboration with the EU delegation.
The lawyer indirectly addressed the main issue raised in the comments, namely the difficulty in getting help at embassies and renewing a citizen’s card or passport or registering children to obtain documents.
The lawyer reiterated the importance of all Portuguese and even those with expired identity documents having to apply by June 30.
“You should try to get the right document, but if you do not get it on time, do not wait, make sure you apply on time. You can apply with the expired document. Ministry of the Interior,” he explained.
He also warned that those who have been out of the UK for more than six months due to the Covit-19 epidemic and will only return in 2021 will have to face the complicated process of explaining the long-term absence of temporary residence permits.
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