Children of Portuguese emigrants with the acquisition of expedited nationality

The Government will expedite the process of acquiring the nationality of the children of Portuguese emigrants and the certification of official documents by the consular services, the Portuguese Secretary of State for the Portuguese Communities, José Luís Carneiro, announced today in Estarreja.

“These are two very important legal and administrative steps that will allow us to expedite many of the circumstances,” said the minister, adding that these changes will have a “very relevant” impact for thousands of Portuguese abroad.

José Luís Carneiro spoke during the signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement between the Câmara de Estarreja and the Directorate General of Consular Affairs and Portuguese Communities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with a view to the creation of an Emigrant Support Office ) in that municipality.

At the time, the Secretary of State referred to the existence of “a blockage that does not result from the exclusive will of the Portuguese State” and was exceeded by a decision of the Ministry of Justice, related to obtaining nationality by children of parents whose divorce is not registered in Portugal.

“It was often necessary to prove the marital status of the parents and sometimes this was not possible because they were second marriages and the divorce was not registered as it should in Portugal,” explained the minister, adding that, from now on, only the citizens’ presence will be required when applying for nationality.

The secretary of state also said that Portuguese consular services will be able to certify the official documents that citizens deliver at consular posts, in cases where it can be demonstrated that it was not possible to have “apostilled” documents.

According to the Secretary of State, this news will be communicated to the Portuguese emigrants in Venezuela, during their trip to that country, scheduled for the period from 19 to 24 January.

At the same time, the governor also heard complaints about the delay in attending the Aliens and Borders Services, for applications for residence permits, and said that he would pass on this concern to the ministry that heads that body.

The task force of Estarreja is to support citizens who have been emigrants, who are on their way back, who is still living in the host countries or who want to start a migration process.

These offices aim to respond to the issues of return and reintegration in all its aspects: social, legal, economic, investment, employment and studies, among others.

With the opening of the Estarreja GAE, the number of these offices nationwide increases to 146, according to data from the Portuguese State Department.

For March, an agreement is planned with the Intermunicipal Community of the Region of Coimbra, with a view to opening more offices.