Temporary protection for over 42,000 from Ukraine

Portugal has so far granted more than 42,000 temporary protection requests to people who have fled the war in Ukraine and has communicated to the public prosecutor the situation of 731 children who arrived in the country without their parents, the immigration and borders service, SEF, announced on Tuesday.

According to the latest update by the SEF, since the beginning of the war on 24 February, Portugal has granted temporary protection to 42,151 Ukrainian citizens and foreigners living in Ukraine, 26,620 of them women and 15,531 men.

SEF reports that the highest number of temporary protection requests granted continue to be in Lisbon (7,646), Cascais (2,635), Porto (1,630), Sintra (1,495) and Albufeira (1,168).

SEF also indicates that it has issued 37,881 certificates granting a residence permit under the temporary protection regime.

This certificate, issued after the national health service, social security and tax authority have assigned the respective numbers, is necessary for refugees to start working and access support.

During the process of assigning these numbers, citizens can consult the numbers that have been assigned in the meantime, in their reserved area of the digital platform https://sefforukraine.sef.pt.

SEF also reports that requests for temporary protection have been authorised for 12,743 minors, representing around 30% of the total.

SEF also reveals that it has communicated to the public prosecutor (MP) the situation of 731 Ukrainian minors who arrived in Portugal without parents or legal representatives, cases in which there is considered to be no “present or imminent danger”.

In these situations, where in most cases the child arrived in Portugal with a relative, the case is communicated to the public prosecutor for the appointment of a legal representative and possible initiation of protection proceedings for the minor.

SEF also communicated to the commission for the protection of children and young people the situation of 15 minors who arrived in Portugal unaccompanied, but with someone other than parents or a proven legal representative, these cases representing “current or imminent danger”.

The request for temporary protection in Portugal can be made through the online platform created by SEF and available in three languages.

However, in the case of minors, it is compulsory to go to a SEF branch to confirm their identity and parentage.

Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine has killed more than 4,300 civilians and forced more than 7.2 million people to flee abroad, according to UN data, which stresses that the real figures could be much higher.