A total of 11 Cape Verdean children under 11 years of age and four adults accompanying them have had their visas to Portugal rejected, preventing them from attending the children’s football tournament.
The 15 Cape Verdean nationals were invited to participate in the Barcelos children’s football tournament back in March, with the Chamber of Barcelos, Mario Constantino Lopes being the host and taking all responsibility regarding the Cape Verdean guests’ food, accommodation and transfers during the competition, Schengen.News reports.
In the rejection letter issued by the Portuguese Embassy, it is explained that the visa was refused since there remain reasonable doubts about the applicant’s intention to leave the EU after their visa expires, indicating that they might overstay their visa.
The Cape Verdean Association EFAT – Achada Grande Trás Football School, which represents the children intends to ask for the process to be reconsidered. The trip was planned to last between June 13 and June 22, 2024.
Cape Verdean Association Considers Visa Rejection Decision ‘Baseless’
In a social media port, the management of the EFAT writes that Portugal’s decision to reject their visa requests is “baseless”.
According to Edmilson Garcia, the President of the Board, the Common Visa Center (CCV) has revealed that “reasonable doubts exist as to the applicant’s intention to leave the territory of Member States before the expiration of the visa” are the reason for their visas being denied. The management of EFAT promised to appeal the decision.
Cape Verde & 8 Other Countries Waiting on Portugal’s Next Move Regarding CPLP Visa
A total of nine countries are part of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP), including here Cape Verde.
In an effort to bring these communities closer together, Portugal previously announced the CPLP visa scheme, which aimed at facilitating entry to nationals of these countries to the Schengen state, especially for employment and study purposes.
However, the current government has put a halt on this measure until it is clarified, as granting these nationals entry to Portugal could impact the Schengen Area as a whole. This visa can become a national visa, allowing CPLP nationals entry only to Portugal.
Nationals of Cape Verde have filed 18,341 visa applications to Schengen states in 2023, as data from Schengen Visa Statistics reveals.
Around 16,700 applications, representing 91 per cent of all requests were filed to Portugal, indicating that this country is the ultimate destination for Cape Verdeans, compared to 1,600 that applied for a Spain Schengen visa.
Source: https://schengen.news/portugal-denies-visas-of-cape-verdean-children-invited-to-a-football-tournament-due-to-overstaying-concerns/
