PORTUGUESE CITIZENSHIP: AVAILED BY NEARLY 450 GOANS EVERY YEAR

PANJIM: Lure of better life and huge earnings in European nations, particularly United Kingdom, have made a considerable number of Goans acquire Portuguese passports using which they could easily travel to countries in European Union (EU) and get employment. Being a subject of the then Portuguese government, Goans are eligible for its citizenship and hence passports.

According to information provided by the home department authorities in the state secretariat, nearly 1,200 Goans have acquired Portuguese passports since January 2008 till September 30 this year, and the number is likely to go up further as more and more eligible people were applying for Portuguese citizenship and passport.

The home department officials further said that the government has also sought the names and number of Goans who have acquired Portuguese passport and citizenship since the Portuguese consulate started functioning in the state, in an attempt to know the exact number of people who have acquired Portuguese citizenship.

Most of the people acquiring Portuguese passports hail from Agassaim, Batim, Goa Velha and Siridao in Tiswadi taluka. People from Bardez and Salcete have also acquired Portuguese passports in good numbers. Goans from all the talukas of the state have acquired Portuguese passports but the number of people from Pernem, Sattari and Sanguem is negligible.

While a vast majority of people numbering around 1,200 who have sought Portuguese passports are Catholics, the number of Hindus who have acquired such passports is just 25 while Muslims account for 19. Mr Antonio Fernandes, a Portuguese passport holder of Goan origin working at Swindon in United Kingdom but hailing from St Cruz and who is visiting the state on a holiday, said that there are thousands of Goans holding Portuguese passports in Europe and staying there with their families.

"The Portuguese passport gives us freedom to move in the EU and get employment easily without having to go through the process of obtaining visas," said Mr Fernandes adding that the situation has changed over the years with job opportunities having dried up of late and it was not as lucrative as it was once.

He said most of the Goans are employed in Royal Mail, hospitals and transport industry and were doing menial jobs for which they get paid 9 pounds per hour on week days while on Saturday the wages are 11 pounds and on Sundays they rise to 12 pounds. He said that there were many other incentives like housing, free education up to four children to those holding passports of EU members, which makes migration to EU more lucrative.

Mr Fernandes, who migrated to United Kingdom in 2001, further said that many employment agencies were seeking workforce, especially for menial jobs, when he first entered UK but over the years the situation has changed with people from other nations especially from Poland landing there in large numbers and grabbing up the jobs on offer.

Another person, whose name is withheld on request, told this daily that besides giving easy access to EU, holding a Portuguese passport also provides job opportunities easily in the EU nations. "This passport would help our children to also get passport of Portugal and also help them migrate to Europe where they can get high paying jobs easily," he added.

A young man from Bardez, Mr Agnelo Fernandes (name changed) who is seeking Portuguese passport said that though he would be losing Indian citizenship on acquiring Portuguese citizenship and passport, it was worth taking the risk as he would be able to earn amounts running into scores of lakhs of rupees if he worked in Europe even for five years and then returned to settle down again in his homeland. (NT)