Portugal’s Consulates in Brazil Process 10.6% More Schengen Visa Applications in 2024

A 10.6 per cent increase has been registered in the number of visa applications processed from the beginning of this year at Portugal’s consulates in Brazil.

Such figures have been provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal to Portugal Giro.

The statistics from the Ministry reveal that about 26,000 visa applications have been processed so far this year, representing a slight increase from the previous year, Schengen.News reports.

The surge in the number of visa applications from Brazilians has also led to longer waiting times for visas to be processed. In order to accelerate the visa issuance process, the ministry said that they would hire an additional 50 people in 2025.

Portugal Vows to Issue Work Visas to Immigrants Within a Month
Earlier this month, the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, António Leitão Amaro, said that Portugal aims to issue work visas to immigrants in less than a month.

Such comments by the Minister came following reports of long waiting times that foreigners face in order to obtain a visa in Portugal, particularly those from Brazil, who often wait for more than six months.

Extended waiting times related to visa issuance by Portuguese embassies and consulates have marked an increase, especially after the abolishment of the Expression of Interest Program in June last year, which allowed all persons to reach Portugal as tourists and then file an application to work in this country legally.

However, the lawyer, Elizabeth Lima, working in immigration, told Politico Portugal that the proposal of the government of Portugal to grant work visas to immigrants in less than a month is unrealistic.

According to Lima, there are not enough resources that would allow Portuguese authorities to achieve the goal of issuing visas in such a short period of time.

According to a recent survey from the General Union of Workers, Portugal needs between 50,000 to 100,000 foreign workers each year to fill in labour shortage gaps amid ongoing visa issuance delays.

Source: https://schengen.news/portugals-consulates-in-brazil-process-10-6-more-schengen-visa-applications-in-2024/