“As part of the Resettlement Program of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), our country has already received 811 people from Egypt and Turkey with different nationalities (from Syria, Iraq, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia)”, explains a note from the office of the Minister of State and Presidency, Mariana Vieira da Silva.

“These citizens benefit from the Refugee Status granted by order of the Minister of Internal Administration, being holders of a Declaration attesting the International Protection Status while awaiting the issuance of the Refugee Residence Title, under the terms of the Asylum Law”, she adds.

The note also counts the number of foreign citizens received either under refugee programs or applicants for international protection, referring to the 243 people received after being rescued in the Mediterranean, over the past few years.

“As part of the Portuguese commitment to the European Commission for the relocation of unaccompanied children and young people, there are already 121 minors in our country. Portugal was the 6th European country that received more refugees under the European Union's Relocation Program, receiving 1,550 refugees from Greece (1,190) and Italy (360) between December 2015 and April 2018 – who were hosted by 97 municipalities”, states the note from the Government.

Portugal also received 142 asylum seekers under the agreement between the European Union and Turkey, between June 2016 and December of the following year.

The Government also said, regarding the crisis in Afghanistan after the takeover of power by the Taliban, that Portugal has the capacity to immediately receive 300 Afghan citizens.

The executive guaranteed that all those who collaborated with the national forces will be welcomed, in this case “116 Afghan citizens, which includes those who worked with the detached national forces and their nuclear families”.

It was also revealed that 840 Portuguese families showed willingness to take in Afghan refugees.