In the last three weeks, over 10,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Portugal. Publico reported that this amount is almost equal to the number of refugees, of all countries, that Portugal welcomed since 2015. In the last seven years, 10,927 refugees from different countries arrived to find refuge in Portugal. In the last 3 weeks, 10,068 Ukrainian refugees arrived to flee the Russian invasion.
Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced at the beginning of the invasion that all Ukrainians with family, friends, and acquaintances in Portugal were welcome. Ukrainian refugees have made use of the measures implemented by the government to fast-track the asylum process.
The Portuguese Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) launched an online platform on Monday to simplify the processing of bringing Ukrainians to safety in Portugal under a temporary protection regime. A task force has been created to help Ukrainian refugees find employment and housing and children have been allocated schools to attend. Ukrainian refugees are automatically given a national health service number, a social security number, and a VAT identification number (NIF).
Está em pleno funcionamento a plataforma online do SEF para registo de pedidos de proteção temporária de cidadãos ucranianos e seus familiares (agregado familiar), bem como de qualquer cidadão estrangeiro a residir na Ucrânia.https://t.co/Lwk1BF9hHW pic.twitter.com/3h2PrmZi7s
— SEF (@SEF_Portugal) March 14, 2022
