According to data provided by SEF, in relation to the movement of vessels and aircraft, there was a growth of 2.2% at maritime borders and 40.6% at air borders.

"Values were ​​below those recorded in the pre-pandemic period, however they are already higher than 2020", says SEF

In 2021, 0.27% of the total number of passengers controlled by SEF were intercepted, corresponding to an increase of 2.9% compared to 2020.

"These interceptions resulted in a decrease of 23% in refusals of entry into national territory, that is, 1,035 citizens, representing only 0.03% of checked passengers", states the SEF.

Of the intercepted passengers, SEF highlights Brazilian citizens, with around 88% of the total number of refusals of entry, followed by North American, Senegalese, Angolan and Guinean passengers, with values ​​below 1.2% each.

Regarding the reported crimes, SEF reveals that 183 illicit acts were detected, with the crime of forgery of documents being the most common.

Asylum

As for international protection (asylum application), SEF notes that there has been an increase in requests at the so-called external border: 302 in 2021 and 159 in 2020.

"The nationalities that most requested international protection at the external border of the Humberto Delgado Airport (Lisbon) were Indian and Moroccan. Among the origins with the greatest risk at this level, the flights from Bissau, Istanbul, São Paulo and Moscow stand out, explains SEF.

At the same time, around a third of citizens who applied for asylum identified themselves with fraudulent documents.

Ports

For its part, the maritime border post of Lisbon carried out, in 2021, the documentary control of around 155,000 crew and 161,500 passengers, corresponding to the control of 1,550 commercial ships, 107 cruise ships and 61 ships of another type (navy, fishing, scientific).

Thus, according to SEF calculations, there was a growth of 213% in the control of passengers and crew and of 2.2% in the number of vessels, compared to 2020.