Portuguese government agrees to expedite process for athletes seeking residence permits

The Portuguese government has decided to expedite the process for athletes seeking residence permits and simultaneously end the expression of interest for immigrants already present in the country.

This means that it has agreed to make exceptions for sports clubs that are expressing interest in athletes in the immigration process especially for relevant events that serve the public interest.

These sports clubs and sport federations will now sign a protocol with the government, that allows to speed up the process of regularisation of athletes who are third-country nationals already in the immigration system.

To facilitate this process, the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) IP will sign a protocol with organizations, sports clubs, and federations to speed up the residence permit procedures.

This measure aims to address the issue of foreign nationals coming to the Schengen Area for various purposes, including sports events, and then seeking to remain in the country.

Rationale

In recent months, there were numerous instances where individuals from developing countries arrived in countries in the Schengen Area for athletic performances and overstayed their visas or applied for asylum after entering the zone.

This situation has led to the host countries to become more cautious when granting visas causing the Portuguese government to rule that clubs cannot facilitate the regularization of foreigners who arrived in Portugal on a tourist visa.

Hence, with pressure from the League of Clubs and sports federations in Portugal, the Prime Minister’s Executive agreed to end the right to expression of interest for immigrants already present in the country.

The organizations, sports clubs, and federations that will speed up the residence permit procedures include the following:

• The Foreigners and Borders Coordination Unit (UCFE)
• The Portuguese Handball Federation
• The Portuguese Basketball Federation
• The Portuguese Football Federation
• The Portuguese Skating Federation
• The Portuguese Volleyball Federation
• The Portuguese Professional Football League

Pressures from football clubs and sports federation to expedite residence permits 

Following meetings with sports federations representing handball, basketball, football, skating, and volleyball, Luís Montenegro’s Executive agreed to the clubs’ demand for the “exceptional appeal” included in Article 123 of the Foreigners Law.

The Ministry emphasized that the unique situation of professional athletes, along with the economic and social importance and the public interest of professional sports, justifies expedited procedures for processing their documents within national territory.

In a government press release, it was clarified that “the economic and social relevance and the public interest of professional sport” is the basis for this decision. This rationale “justifies” the measures undertaken to expedite the documentation process for athletes.

The President of Liga Portugal, Pedro Proença expressed confidence that clubs will now face no issues regarding this transfer. “I think we will have a structural solution to the problem so that the clubs can end this transfer window with some peace of mind,” he stated.

However, FC Alverca, Santa Clara, Estrela da Amadora and UD Leiria, were among the clubs that pointed out the displeasure with the end of expressions of interest as well as the delay in the process of regularisation.