SEF legalized outside the law thousands of immigrants,who claimed to be working in Portugal

The former director of the SEF exempted from entry visa, required by law, immigrants who claimed to be working in Portugal

The Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) authorized in 2015 the regularization of thousands of illegal immigrants - can reach five thousand, but the SEF is still to establish the right number - via an internal order which violated the law in force. The former national director Antonio Beça Pereira, a judge-judge appointed by the government PSD / CDS, decided to exempt the visa in Portugal or in the Schengen space required in the Aliens Act, immigrants proved to be working in our country for more than a year. This highly irregular measure caused a wave of illegal immigration towards Portugal. This year, according to official SEF data were received 12,200 residence permit applications (more than double the previous year), much of the hand of criminal networks have taken advantage of the unique opportunity in Europe to legalize their " victims "through simulated work contracts, then explore.

John Adams, the CDS leader and former Secretary of State for Internal Affairs who patronized the SEF that time, guaranteed not to have been told by your former director of the decision. "I had no knowledge of any order, direction or instruction to that effect. The law is clear in this matter and there is no reason to be applied differently," he says. Did not, however, share his opinion about a police service could be breaking the law for at least one year, involving leaders and officials who instructed the processes outside the regulations. "I will not speculate," merely react.

At issue is Article 88, paragraph 2, of the Aliens Act, which exceptionally allows the granting of residence permits to immigrants integrated into the labor market. Once found the scandal that had inherited, the current Director of SEF, who took office earlier this year, issued an order (in March) to "restore legality," as confirmed to DN this security service. "The legal entry requirement was desaplicado during the year 2015", is recognized. That is, what the legislature sought to avoid by imposing the visa, which was, according explains the SEF, "that Portugal was only and only used as a settlement platform of foreign nationals who actually live and work in other EU countries "I was flatly ignored by the magistrate who led those police.

The big problem is that the more than 12,000 applications that had been admitted in the past year have been committed outside the law, more than half of them, you know the DN, and most of these immigrants already or is in Portugal. The SEF did not provide certain number of authorizations granted without a visa, but are being evaluated security issues. There will be at this point in analysis about four thousand applications. Most of these immigrants are from Hindustan origin (India, Bangladesh and Pakistan) considered risk nationalities. Shops phones, restaurants, mini-markets, whose boom has been visible, may be being used as the basis for false contracts.

"If any of these people engage in a terrorist attack or a violent crime in Europe, that explanation will give Portugal its partners of whether that person has a residence permit outside the law?" Said a police source who DN reported the situation.

The SEF devalues ​​this risk and claims that "controls and monitors the permanence and activity of foreign citizens, with a view not only safety, but also to confirm the effective labor relations." No answer was informed European partners or whether to revoke residence permits granted outside the law. Still admits reevaluate a case, "all situations are likely to be considered in place of renewal residence permit a fair and balanced way," he says.
The order of the current director of the SEF, Luísa Maia Gonçalves, has been the subject of contestation of immigrant associations (see interview) and the Left Bloc (BE) who had applauded the extraordinary regularization facilitated by the former director. "This order prevents the overwhelming majority of immigrants to complete their processes, even if they have been admitted to the same, as it imposes retroactivity. Most there is already here working for many years but did not enter legally and can not be back in time ", sustains bloquista Mrs Sandra Cunha.

But the SEF, which is particularly concerned with criminal networks and responsibility in the security of the country and Europe, says "is unfounded the impossibility of regularization of foreign citizens who have often been public." Since the order of march, were regularized within the law, "more than 900 foreign citizens", based on this article. And since 2007, a total of 80,000 immigrants also received their titles in compliance with the rules of this law. "What actually became more difficult was the regularization of citizens living illegally in other Schengen countries and were brought to Portugal by criminal networks just to obtain a residence permit, a problem that since the beginning of the legislature always intended to avoid. When while these people are exploited by these networks based fund-hand labor and illegal trafficking in virtual slavery conditions. "

The SEF stresses, however, that taking into account "the expectations created" in 2015, relied on by the immigrant associations, the national director did, earlier this month, on the fourth day (one day after the demonstration of immigrants), a new order to say that all cases whom residence permits were rejected, since March, the exclusive lack of visa reason, "can be, by way of exception, subject to case by case review, with exemption from that requirement."

Could not contact Beça Pereira, whose phone was off. His deputies former national directors, senior management of the SEF, also declined to comment. Luis Gouveia claimed to be "on vacation in Italy" and Francisco Van der Kellen sent explanations to the current direction.