Some 18,000 Brits apply for new post-Brexit residence permit in Portugal

Some 18,000 British citizens living in Portugal have already applied online for a new residence permit under the Exit Agreement, via the Brexit Portal, the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) said on Monday.

In a statement, the SEF said that the approximately 18,000 requests for replacement residence permits were made in the last three weeks through the new Brexit Portal (brexit.sef.pt), launched on 14 December by the SEF, in collaboration with the UK Embassy in Lisbon.

According to SEF, the new residence permit card for UK citizens will start to be issued soon and confirms the resident status under the EU-UK Exit Agreement, ensuring the protection of rights after the transition period on 31 December.

“Until the card is issued, and after submitting the registration form on the new Portal, UK nationals can download a proof of this request in digital format – a document with a ‘QR Code’ – which can be used whenever they travel, as proof of their residence in Portugal,” SEF further explains.

From January 2021, SEF began notifying British nationals to schedule a trip to a service desk, in one of the 20 town halls selected throughout the country, for the collection of biometric data, which will be included in the new residence permit.

The SEF recalls that current EU residence documents will continue “to be accepted until the new residence permit is issued”.

According to data from the 2019 Immigration and Asylum Report, 34,358 UK nationals were resident in Portugal.