Manuel Fernandes received his Portuguese passport two years ago and moved to the UK immediately. With a good job in hand and admission for his son in school, he is now awaiting his wife’s arrival. However, his wife is still awaiting her Portuguese passport to enter the country, a privilege that they will have till the UK continues with its pre-Brexit rules of entry of European nationals
With 1,49,000 Portuguese nationals living in the UK, and 8,37,000 India-born people also living in the UK, Goans have no reason to panic. Even entering the country on the last day itself is good enough to qualify for staying and working benefits. On January 31, 2020, there was panic in the air as the UK officially announced its exit from the EU, putting many Goans in doubt about what their status would be post Brexit but this didn’t stop the rush of pursuing a Portuguese passport to meet the December 31, 2020 deadline, to live and work as before.
As Keith Vaz, a former minister in the Tony Blair government, recently explained in an interview, anyone who arrives in the UK before this date will have no problem. However, there are two aspects. If you have been a resident of the UK continuously for five years before the cut-off date, you can apply for ‘settled status’ and later apply for permanent statuts. If one has not completed five years of stay, he or she will have to apply for ‘pre-settled status’. Their rights are preserved. Goans would be classified in either of these two groups.
Peter Barreto of Goa Travels, Margao explains the trend that he has noticed over the years: “The people applying for the Portuguese passport come from different parts of Goa, right from Mapusa to Canacona, Vasco and Sanguem. People are being optimistic and are applying for the passport because if they don’t get to work and live in the UK, they always have 27 countries in the European Union. The new wave of passport holders comprises the children of those born before 1961. The younger generation prefer to hold the Portuguese passport as it has more opportunities. When Brexit happens, they can still opt for places like Canada and USA. The clients are aware about the situation and those who still have fears approach us with their concerns.”
Bruno Gomindes of Travco, Margao says the number of applications have doubled in past few months. “The number has doubled as the deadline won’t work. Even those who were not supposed to apply for the Portuguese passport are now pursuing it. The European Union took 7 years to give deals to Canada and the UK wants it in 11 months; the EU will not work under pressure. People who are not well read and informed have misconceptions about entry into the UK. The country will be open till the last day for people to enter. The date of the deadline may get extended from December 2020 to December 2021,” says Bruno Gomindes.
How the process currently works is the same as the previous year, however, the verification of documents is now done online. “All the documents have to be proper and in order. The verification is done online and there is no delay in the processing. For those who were born before 1961, and starting their registration from scratch, it may take upto three years to get a Portuguese passport and another 12 months for their children to get a passport. Once in the UK, they can opt for a pre settled status or a settled status. Both the statuses will receive the same benefits including government jobs. They can also apply for British citizenship if they have lived for five years in the country,” says Bruno Gomindes.
With the load of applications being received by the Portuguese authorities, processing documents is taking time. The Portuguese are in no hurry and as such are working on their own pace from 9am to 6pm and processing as many documents as they can within a day. The system has not slowed down. Jesito Gomindes of Gomindes & Co in Margao says, “People are still submitting applications for Portuguese passport as the deadline is December 31, 2020 without a deal and June 30, 2021 with a deal. Goans will be affected with Brexit but that depends on whether the mandate that Boris Johnson sets for the country is homogenous. EU has a lot of citizens in the UK and the UK also has many of its citizens in the EU. It depends on how the negotiations go and who is in a better position to decide the deals.”
He adds, “There has been no drop in the number of applications as new applicants come forward every day. The lethargic attitude of Goans where they take time to do things has now changed and they are taking things very seriously, especially in this situation as they have a lot to lose.”
Goans have the advantage of speaking in English to live and work in the United Kingdom, in a culture that is closer to home. Now we have yet to see if it’s deal or no deal for those who are making the move.
