Temporary protection authorisation is valid for one year, extendable for two six-monthly periods
At least 1,529 Ukrainians who obtained temporary protection in Portugal due to the war in their country have already left, representing 2.6% of all refugees who requested this statuts from the authorities, according to data from Immigration and Borders Service SEF today
Since the start of the war almost a year ago, Portugal has granted 57,626 temporary protections to nationals of Ukraine or foreigners resident in that country when Russia invaded, says SEF.
In a response to questions sent by Lusa, SEF explained that 1,529 Ukrainian citizens have requested the cancellation of temporary protection requests that they had formalised.
Of the 57,626 temporary protections granted, 33,696 have been to women; 23,930 to men, with the highest number in the municipalities of Lisbon (12,330), Cascais (3,626), Porto (2,932), Sintra (1,950) and Albufeira (1,426).
SEF also says that it has issued 47,377 certificates of residence permit under the temporary protection regime – documents that contain user numbers for the National Health Service, social security and tax identification – necessary for refugees to be able to working or access benefits.
The agency adds that requests for temporary protection were authorised for 14,082 minors, comprising around 25% of all requests.
SEF also revealed that it communicated to the office of public prosecutions the situation of 737 minors from Ukraine who arrived in Portugal without parents or legal guardians – all of them cases in which there is considered to be no “current or imminent danger”.
In these situations – in most of which the child arrived here in the company of a relative – the situation was communicated to the office of public prosecutions in order that legal representative could be appointed and for the possible organisation of a protection procedure for the minor.
SEF has also communicated to the Commission for the Protection of Children and Young People the situation of 15 minors who arrived in Portugal with someone other than their parents or a proven legal representative, and in which the situation potentially represented “current or imminent danger.”
Requests for temporary protection in Portugal for people from Ukraine can still be made through the online platform created by SEF at https://sefforukraine.sef.pt – available in Portuguese, Ukrainian and English.
However, in the case of minors, requests must go through a SEF office in order to confirm identity and parentage.
Temporary protections automatically granted in Portugal to refugees from Ukraine are valid for one year and can be extended twice for a period of six months.
The military offensive launched on 24 February 2022 by Russia in Ukraine has so far caused the flight of more than 14 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced and more than 8 million to other European countries – according to the latest data from the United Nations, which classifies this as the worst refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
At the moment, 17.7 million people in Ukraine need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food and shelter.
The invasion – which Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has said was necessary to “denazify” and demilitarise Ukraine for Russia’s own security – has been condemned by the international community in general, which has responded by sending arms to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.
Lusa
