Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Britons' lives in Portugal 'paralysed' by post-Brexit ID cards failure

Britons' lives in Portugal 'paralysed' by post-Brexit ID cards failure

Britons living in Portugal are complaining of being deprived of access to basic rights such as healthcare, employment and social security because they have not been issued with post-Brexit residency cards.

Some have been blocked at airports as they attempt to travel to other EU countries, being told at the border that their documents are not in order.

"We are in desperate straits," Tig James, co-president of the British in Portugal campaign group, told Euronews. "It has paralysed and damaged UK nationals' lives emotionally, physically and financially."

James cites cases of British workers unable to sign work contracts, with some having job offers retracted, because of the lack of residency documentation — "most notably, five EasyJet pilots who had moved to Portugal, with their families, solely for that purpose".

"Two people were recently detained in Germany because of out-of-date residency documentation," she added. They had to buy alternative return tickets back to Portugal via another route outside the EU, at a cost of some €5,000.

The couple have employed a German immigration lawyer and are hoping for a court hearing. "They have done everything legally," James says.

Like British nationals living elsewhere in the European Union, the tens of thousands living in Portugal were guaranteed residency and associated rights under the Brexit divorce treaty.

As long as they had moved to the country before the new rules took effect in 2021, the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement (WA) protects rights such as residency, housing, employment, health care and social security, for them and their family members.

The new rules covering travel state that UK nationals with residence rights in an EU country "do not need a visa to enter their country of residence or any other EU country". But they stress the importance of having new official documentation "in the form of a biometric residence card".

Tig James says the Portuguese authorities have been promising her that the new Withdrawal Agreement biometric cards (WABCs) would be arriving "soon" since July 2019. But three years on, they have yet to be issued.

In an email seen by Euronews, Portugal's Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) "clarifies that the current residence documents of British nationals living in Portugal continue to be accepted".

SEF explains that British residents can download proof of their application in the form of a supporting document with a QR code. This, it says, "allows to travel, serves as proof of their residence in Portugal and guarantees access to public health and social services".

But British resident Nicola Franks told Portuguese TV channel SIC that she encountered difficulties on a trip to Amsterdam with her husband this summer without a new biometric ID card.

"The border control official looked at these papers he had obviously never seen before and decided they were not legitimate, that, in fact, they were only applications for residency. To make a long and frightening story as short as possible, he turned me back to Portugal," she said.

"SEF are consistent in saying the paperwork they have given is sufficient which it most certainly isn’t," James told Euronews, arguing that the "dreadful consequences" are "devastating lives".

"Without a WABC you can’t register for health care if you move address (people seriously ill, potentially terminally ill, cannot get treatment), doctors refusing treatment, appointments cancelled."

She adds that "repeatedly" Britons have had problems trying to exchange UK driving licences for Portuguese permits to comply with the law. Tax offices and banks are refusing to change addresses, while car owners are unable to register, repair or import vehicles. Parents are forking out tens of thousands of euros because applications for EU university fees are being rejected.

"Portuguese institutions or businesses are simply refusing to deal with UK nationals or provide a service," James says.

"The Portuguese social security office has ceased family allowance payments until a WABC can be produced and the birth of a child cannot be registered. Only on one family employing a lawyer were they able to finally register their child and, by the time all the negotiations were completed, the child was ten months old."

British nationals have been unable to bring "third country" spouses into Portugal.

James cites the case of one man whose own residency document has expired and is waiting for his wife to be allowed in.

"He cannot get a renewal nor can he leave the country as he is not allowed to start the renewal process until his wife has her WABC. His mother is now seriously ill and he cannot leave to see her. In the meantime, as his residency has expired, his dermatologist has refused to see him for his skin condition. Families are being torn apart," she says.

"The reasons for the three-year delay by the immigration department? Staff shortages, holiday periods, the pandemic, and now Ukrainian refugees," James explains.

A pilot programme has been set up by SEF to process biometric data for Britons living in the Azores and Madeira. But this concerns only a fraction of the overall number of UK nationals in Portugal.

The immigration and borders service says staff training in collecting biometric data will begin "very soon" and Britons will begin being issued with their new cards. But Tig James says she has heard that the programme has still to get off the ground.

The campaigner adds that she has been lobbying British and Portuguese politicians for years, but "all that has happened is the situation has got worse".

"SEF are wilfully, deliberately and systemically not adhering to the Withdrawal Agreement resulting in the physical, emotional and financial suffering of thousands of UK nationals in Portugal."

James has turned down an appointment in September to present evidence of the Britons' difficulties before the European Commission's Economic and Social Committee.

"My residency has expired and we already have incidents of UK nationals having terrible problems in Brussels trying to leave as their documentation, as is mine, is out of date, expired, being detained. I cannot afford to get arrested," she says.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
×