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About 600 originally Portuguese goan filled a church in Southall in the suburbs of London on Thursday to attend a briefing on the residence rights of European citizens after the "Brexit" in 2019. Despite the church of St. Alselm had seats for about 500 people, many had to stand or outside, near the door, where it was possible to listen to the speakers through a sound column.
A British lawyer specializing in immigration law, Christopher Desira, answers questions following an introduction from the Portuguese consul in London, Joana Gaspar. Both warned against the need for all Europeans to apply for resident status by June 2021 by means of an Internet system developed by the British Home Office, but which should not be put into use. only in a few months. "Please do not pay agents or lawyers to do this process for you, the consulate has a service to help, with a dedicated email and employees," assured the diplomat.
Eusebio Afonso, 58, in the UK since 2002, and João Fernandes, 58, both of whom were airport workers near Heathrow, were satisfied with the explanations given for two hours. "I'm more rested now, I had some doubts," admitted Afonso, who took a year, but got the Portuguese passport, thanks to the law that allows natives of the former colonies of Goa, Daman and Diu born until 1961 to obtain nationality as well as their children.
Constâncio Pereira, 57, in the United Kingdom since 2006, was "relieved" that the Indian wife and son-in-law could remain in the United Kingdom as close relatives of Europeans with residency status.
With the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union on March 29, 2019, European citizens no longer have the right to move and settle freely in British territory. Permanent resident status [settled status] will be granted to those who have five consecutive years of life in the United Kingdom, while those under the age of five will have a provisional title [pre-settled status] until the end of the required time.
The process is carried out electronically by crossing the information with the official tax or social security databases, after identification by a valid passport or identity card. If they do not register with state departments, claimants can provide proof of UK address, such as service invoices or bank statements.
Finally, criminal records will be analyzed, being considered serious crimes that resulted in sentences of more than 12 months and which were repeated in a period of time.
Thursday's session in Southall is held in English, despite the presence of a concani translator, one of the languages spoken in the Indian province of Goa. "It is not mandatory to speak Portuguese to have Portuguese nationality," said Consul, Joana Gaspar.
The Consulate General of Portugal in London held five more sessions in Portuguese in London, Thetford, Bridgwater and Peterborough, but the audience was attended by dozens of people. Given the great interest shown by the Goans, Ravi Vaz, the president of the Goesa association in the UK, has made himself available to hold more sessions on the "Brexit".
"I'm glad the consulate contacted us before we contacted you," he said, concluding with a call for participants to use social media to share the information they received .
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