Portugal suddenly regularizes all immigrants without
residence permits
In the face of the coronavirus crisis, the Government
of Portugal has decided to regularize all immigrants who have applied for a
residence permit, in order to guarantee the rights of all citizens who are in
Portugal.
According to the Portuguese Minister of Internal
Administration, Eduardo Cabrita, given the current crisis situation, it is
"important to guarantee the rights of the most fragile, as is the case
with immigrants."
"It is a duty of a solidarity society in times of
crisis to ensure the access of immigrant citizens to health and social
security," he explained.
As stated in a statement by the Ministry of Internal
Administration, all visas and documents related to the stay of foreign citizens
in Portugal that expire after February 25 will be valid until June 30, 2020.
He also announced that starting next Monday, March 30,
all the offices of the Portuguese Foreigners and Borders Service will be closed
to the public, to avoid contagion of coronavirus, except in very urgent cases.
The number of deaths in Portugal from coronavirus rose
31% on Saturday, to 100 deaths, while there are already 5,170 people infected
(21% more than yesterday), of which 764 (14.7%) are doctors, nurses or
auxiliaries.