Author
The Portuguese authorities are bound by a duty to issue beneficiaries of international protection a residence permit.[1] Its duration varies according to the type of international protection granted: the residence permit for refugees is valid for 5 years,[2] while the residence permit for subsidiary protection beneficiaries is valid for 3 years.[3] The issuance of these residence permits is free of charge.[4]
Information provided by AIMA regarding residence permits issued in 2023 is not totally clear, but it seems to indicate that a total of 775 residence permits were issued to beneficiaries of international protection, of which 496 were issued to refugees and 279 to beneficiaries of subsidiary protection.
According to CPR’s experience in providing legal information and assistance to asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection at all stages of the asylum procedure (see Regular Procedure: Legal Assistance), the average length of the procedure for issuing a residence permit following a decision granting international protection in previous years was considered reasonable, ranging from a few weeks to a month and a half. It should be noted that asylum seekers admitted to the regular procedure are in possession of a provisional residence permit, valid and renewable for 6 months, at the time they are granted international protection (see Short Overview of the Asylum Procedure).[5] Following the request for issuance of the international refugee status/subsidiary protection residence permit, beneficiaries are issued a declaration certifying their application for the renewal of a residence permit.
In 2023, CPR continued to notice significant difficulties in booking appointments for the renewal of residence permits. According to CPR’s experience, this has often caused challenges to beneficiaries of international protection, notably regarding access to employment and access to certain services.
According to CPR’s observation, the average waiting period for issuance of residence permits following such appointments is overall reasonable. Following the appointment and until the issuance of the renewed residence permit beneficiaries are issued a declaration certifying their application for the renewal of a residence permit.
The delays in the issuance and renewal of residence permits have been flagged by the UN Human Rights Committee.[6] Such delays, with impacts in access to services and assistance, have also been identified by the Statistical Report of Asylum 2020.[7]
While noting the existence of difficulties in determining the number of beneficiaries of international protection in the country each year, the Statistical Report of Asylum 2023 indicates that by the end of 2022, 3,126 beneficiaries of international protection had valid residence permits in Portugal (2,086 refugees and 1,040 beneficiaries of subsidiary protection).[8] It should be noted that the report includes humanitarian residence permits as beneficiaries of subsidiary protection which is not in line with the applicable legal framework. It also includes in the figure residence permits issued to family members of holders of humanitarian residence permits. As such, the real number of beneficiaries of subsidiary protection at the time would likely be 636. According to the same source, the majority of refugees were from Syria, Eritrea and Iraq, and the majority of subsidiary protection beneficiaries were from Syria, and Iraq.[9]
In December 2022, the Government amended Decree-Law 10-A/2020,[10] determining, inter alia, that:
- Visas and documents related to the residency of foreign nationals expired since the entry into force of the Decree-Law, or within the previous 15 days, are accepted as valid until 31 December 2023;
- After 31 December 2023, such documents will continue to be accepted providing the holder has an appointment for its renewal;
- This regime does not apply to documents concerning temporary protection.
It was further amended in November 2023, extending the above-mentioned deadline from 31 December 2023 until 30 June 2024.[11]
With regard to the readmission of beneficiaries of international protection in Portugal, SEF previously reported that requests for readmission are analysed according to the following criteria:
- The person concerned holds a valid residence permit;
- The person concerned has a valid right of residence in Portugal, regardless of the validity of the corresponding residence permit:
- The person concerned continues to benefit from international protection in Portugal, regardless of the issuance of the corresponding residence permit.
According to SEF, if the person concerned is undocumented, they can be either issued a laissez-passer by the requesting authorities or request a travel document to the Portuguese consular authorities for the purposes of readmission in Portugal.
According to SEF, in 2022, the Portuguese authorities received a total of 81 readmission requests concerning beneficiaries of international protection (49 concerning persons with valid residence permits and 32 concerning persons with expired/without residence permits). Given the extension of validity of documents referred to above, many of the expired documents were deemed as valid in national territory. AIMA did not provide information in this regard.
[1] Article 67 Asylum Act. This provision is generally in line with Article 24 recast Qualification Directive.
[2] Article 67(1) Asylum Act.
[3] Article 67(2) Asylum Act.
[4] Article 67(4) Asylum Act.
[5] Article 27(1) Asylum Act.
[6] Human Rights Committee, Concluding Observations on the fifth periodic report of Portugal, CCPR/C/PRT/CO/5. 28 April 2020, available at: https://bit.ly/2Q1ftn8, para 34(a).
[7] Observatory for Migration, Entrada, Acolhimento e Integração de Requerentes e Beneficiários de Protecção Internacional em Portugal – Relatório Estatístico do Asilo 2020, May 2020, available in Portuguese at: https://bit.ly/2MGYtB9, 227.
[8] Observatório das Migrações (OM), Requerentes e Beneficiários de Proteção Internacional – Relatório Estatístico do Asilo 2023, pp.221, July 2023. While the reports produced by the OM were previously available online, at the time of writing it was not possible to access them online, neither in the website of ACM, which was still online, nor in the website of AIMA.
[9] Ibid. Nationalities such as Cape Verde, and Brazil are listed among the main nationalities of beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, which is likely due to the fact that the figures include holders of humanitarian residence permits.
[10] Decree-Law 10-A/2020 of 13 March 2020, available in Portuguese at: https://bit.ly/3iQ0lYE.
[11] Amendment introduced by Decree-Law no.109/2023, of 24 November 2023, available at: https://tinyurl.com/35psx2tf.