Residency secured post-Brexit
The Journal reports that the Mayor of Funchal, Miguel Silva Gouveia, met yesterday morning with the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) to lay the foundations for a protocol that will ensure British citizens can reside in Funchal.
The Mayor clarified that the meeting aimed “to find a solution that will allow the City to implement the contingency plan that, in March of this year, was approved by the Government of the Republic to allow British citizens, upon the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, and who are residing on the island of Madeira, may have their residence permits issued in the municipality of Funchal”.
Two dedicated municipal kiosks
“This preparatory meeting laid the foundations for a protocol to be signed shortly and foresees the setting up of two kiosks in the municipal public space where contingency plans for British citizens will be safeguarded and where the municipality will provide two technicians of its own, to be able to attend and register the process”, explained the Mayor
Miguel Silva Gouveia said at the end of the meeting that “it is important to safeguard that the Government of the Republic is articulating with the Government of the United Kingdom and the Portuguese Embassy in the United Kingdom so that the Portuguese citizens, and in particular the Madeirans, who are working and residing in the UK will have the same reciprocity in terms of contingency plans, and will be treated in the same way as British citizens in Funchal. It will be the deepening of what is the oldest alliance in the world, between Portugal and England”, concluded the Mayor.
Replication is an even more sincere form of flattery
“so that the Portuguese citizens, and in particular the Madeirans, who are working and residing in the UK will have the same reciprocity in terms of contingency plans, and will be treated in the same way as British citizens in Funchal. ”
Spain (with many more British citizens and probably – unlike Portugal and Madeira – more there than Spaniards in the UK) also has a reciprocity agreement in the works. The snag is that the UK’s reply has been to say that they already have a fair scheme of Settled Status in place (and so therefore in effect are not prepared to make special arrangements for Spaniards).
The Settled Status scheme seems to be working only for some long-term EU residents in the UK with others being forced into a temporary status for five years and still others being completed rejected (in some cases after living in the UK for 40+ years and paying tax all the time) so it’s not really acceptable for either Spain or Portugal for their citizens.
I.e. this plan sounds nice, but will it actually happen once the numbers of Portuguese citizens in the UK being rejected or partially rejected become known?
It is chaos here in the UK, unfortunately!
I look forward to these kiosks being set up. A year ago I started my application for Portuguese nationality. Now my Residence Permanent has expired, I have lived here with proper residence for twenty one years but it has not been possible to make the necessary appointments with SEF anywhere in Portugal. It is believed that the system has become overcrowded by Venezuelans trying to get back to the country of their roots.