According to a joint statement from the Ministries of Home Affairs and Justice and the Secretaries of State for Digitization and Administrative Modernization and European Affairs, these are British citizens who had been notified in 2022 to schedule the collection of their biometric data with a view to granting a residence permit in Portugal.

The same note states that Portugal has implemented several measures to ensure that British citizens and their families residing in the national territory on December 31, 2020 can benefit from the rights arising from the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit).

According to the statement, after a pilot phase of the process of issuing residence cards carried out by the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF), in the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira, where 95% of the requested residence permits were issued, and to make up for the delay caused by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on public services, in August 2022 the competence for issuing and renewing residence permits was extended to other public entities, namely the Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado and the Citizen Spaces.

"Today there are 28 service stations, with a special focus on the Algarve, which has 10 stations due to the high concentration of a large part of the British community in this region. For citizens unable to travel due to physical disability, procedures were ensured so that mobile teams from SEF are able to go to their respective homes", announced the government.

The joint communiqué also states that, as the service depends only on scheduling by the beneficiaries themselves, 33,637 British residents have already made this appointment and 93.4% of those who attended have already received their residence permit.


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