Almost 35,000 Britons in limbo as Portugal fails to issue post-Brexit ID cards…
British ex-pats i mean immigrants living in Portugal are unable to access healthcare, change jobs, or travel in and out of the country as its ministers have not issued them with post-Brexit residency cards.
34,500 Britons who made the country their home before Brexit are finding JRM’s statement on LBC radio Nut’s.
People have been left detained at airports, paying to have broken bones treated or risked losing their jobs due to the delays in getting a biometric card that is vital to everyday life and proves their legal status…
Under the UK-EU withdrawal agreement, British citizens in Portugal were guaranteed their social and employment rights would be protected. However, the Portuguese government has yet to provide the biometric residency cards.
Instead, a temporary document and QR code has been issued, which Britons say is not recognised locally or at international borders.
James Campbell, a computer programmer, said: “I am feeling more like an illegal immigrant at the moment.” He listed 25 things that had happened to him because of the lack of documentation, including a £4,000 private hospital bill for a broken limb because he could not access state healthcare… An Illegal immigrant! like all those fleeing war in the UK who have no legal route into the UK? I don’t think James plight is anything like those at risk of being deported to Rwanda.
A British-South-African couple living just outside Lisbon told how they were detained in Frankfurt airport without correct EU residency documentation, and are now being accused of criminal breach of immigration laws as well as a near €4,000 (£3,375) bill for new flights to get back to Portugal.
The husband, who did not wish to be named due to ongoing legal action, said: “We were in transit and when we were going to the gate for the Seychelles we were taken aside and asked for our residency documents. We were told what we had was not sufficient. We offered to show them utility bills, tax bills, to prove we were resident in Portugal, but he would not listen. His only concern was that ‘you are illegally in Germany’. He kept on saying it doesn’t matter what the Portuguese government tell you.”
He said it was “almost criminal” what had happened to him and his wife, adding that individuals should not have to resort to the media to fix a government-created problem. He was told he risked being arrested if they returned via Germany so they had to forgo their original tickets and buy new flights to Lisbon via London…
Tig James, who runs the British in Portugal campaign group, said an estimated 41,000 British nationals were affected and she has spent the past three years “screaming from the rooftops” about the problem – but nobody has heeded her. She blames the Portuguese immigration and borders service, SEF.
“SEF is wilfully, deliberately and systemically not adhering to the withdrawal agreement, resulting in the physical, emotional and financial suffering of thousands of UK nationals living in Portugal,” she said.
Alex Braithwaite, an easyJet pilot based in Portugal, said he risked losing his job due to not having documentation and had to get help from the British embassy to prove he had the right to work locally for the airline. He has also been unable to register at his local GP or change his German driving licence for a local one.
Portugal authorities said, “Certificate with the QR code, that can be downloaded from the portal, continues to be an official residency document for those under the withdrawal agreement. It is valid until the new card is issued. Furthermore, valid EU residency documents continue to be accepted for travel purposes, until the new card is issued.”
The problem seems to be that nobody recognises it!
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Erm . . . surely, it is a breach of British law to cause your own citizens financial, emotional and "whatever" losses. Surely, someone will kick of the avalanche of lawsuits and High Court cases!?
Always the victim… You voted for your own troubles without considering the consequences. Stop reading the Daily Mail
Thank you.
Marcus, the U.K. won’t be able to control inflation, not by getting spending down anyway because Britain is a net importer of goods. Goods that are more expensive for Britons due to falling pound, inflation in the exporting countries that will reflect in the selling price, higher transport costs because of customs regulations and delays. ( mainly on the UK side of the border because of awful infrastructure and poor ( being generous here) handling of paperwork due to failing IT systems.don’t know if you noticed there are no cues on the EU side ( Eu countries do have a functioning IT system) a system that allows companies to upload information before they are even near the border book a place on the ferry etc. a procedure that allows customs officials to safe a lot of time because they know in advance what’s coming, this allows them to check the paperwork the driver has with him much more efficiently.
Jakey Real-Smug might just be correct when he said "Portugal wants us to go", he might not have been correct about the direction though…
Government created problem, no its a problem created by the english who voted leave!!!
Brexit berth holders in my Spanish marina would not accept the truth when I explained the Schengen visa free terms that we would have to adopt after Brexit. They told me that Spain needs us and would either ignore the rules or offer us long term visas. ( incidentally these were so called educated intelligent wealthy people) They are now starting to take their boats back to the U.K. blaming the EU for their vengeful actions because we left the EU.
The Portuguese Government has a lot more to be thinking about than the plight of a few thousand British immigrants…..
When the German immigration officer told the British traveller, “…..it doesn’t matter what the Portuguese government told you”…., he was basically saying that “……..the Portuguese have their laws and here in Germany we have our laws…..”. So he was quite right, even though Portugal and Germany both hold EU membership, they are still two separate sovereign nations with their own separate immigration rules and regulations and laws. Why do so many Brits find this so difficult to understand?
great stuff
How is the tree planting going? Not now obviously with the drought but in general? I'm in Orthez quite often, if near I'll bring you up a few trees from near where I usually live, Basque oak saplings if you'd like, or I'll get the local politicians to donate a few. I know a few people and the publicity would be good for both I'd think. All depends on where you actually live. Near Orthez, then grand. I'm usually based in Pamplona but a few wee health issues have me in France with my family
You are so naughty, rectal exam.. For Brexiteers… . Lol for putting their X in the wrong box,…… poooopp
Will you please stop using the word expat I am an English immigrant into France, using the word expat infers that I am different from other nationalities, that is not so. To me this stinks of English exceptionalism and I don't want to be part of it.
Never heard such a load of rubbish, yes I am still waiting, after 5 years here, I registered with the S.E.F. Site, as soon as Brexit happened, I have the paper with a QR code, not worried, still accessing health care and when I asked last month about it, they told me just to wait, not to worry, I will get a call to register for biometric card. You are talking about something you know nothing about.
British treated like migrants ?.
I travel via the UK from the Canary Islands to Ireland via the UK during July and August , prices to Ireland were high but most flights booked out ..When I arrive back in the Canaries with my Irish passport the immigration barely look at it and say enjoy your stay usually with a wink..
Yes they want the CASH via TAX and you to pay PRIVATE HEALTH care, yet UK not asking for it! Stuuuuupid
The wording of the statement by the Portuguese Government makes it sound like they assume that Britons who are elligible for residency under the withdrawal agreement would already be in possesion of European documentation. How many of those who face problems are Brits who forgot/neglected to do all the things necessary for legal residency under freedom of movement when the UK was still an EU member state?
In spite of the economic downturn and inflation crisis we all face,I'm so happy ☺️I have been earning $ 60,000 returns from my $9,000 investment every 14days
In Germany those already resident there prior to Brexit were considered "Old British" and have rights to a residents title under the withdrawal agreement
It took two months from interview and 37eur.
millions of English who do not want to live in England, the proudest country in the world??? unbelievable
Brits are treated in the EU like pakistanis are treated in the UK ….Enjoy …
It's really sad for these people – they certainly didn't choose for Brexit but one way or another they are also victims of a politically stupid irrational decision made by people in power who did not have the interests of the British public at heart. They were motivated by a sort of 'empire loyalism' – primarily the elderly voters. They brainwashed the lower educated poor using lies and gaslighting.