In a response sent to Lusa, the office of minister Ana Catarina Mendes stated that “the Government considers it necessary to determine a new extension of temporary protection for a period of six months, a proposal that will very soon go to the Council of Ministers”.

The Government also emphasises that it follows the European Commission's intention to extend temporary protection for people displaced from Ukraine until March 2024.

The European Commission announced today that it will extend the temporary protection of people displaced by the war in Ukraine caused by the Russian invasion, adopted in March 2022, guaranteeing support “as long as necessary”.

The announcement was made by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in her speech on the State of the Union in 2023, at the plenary session of the European Parliament, in the French city of Strasbourg, where she revealed that “the Commission will propose the extension of temporary protection for Ukrainians in the EU”.

The temporary protections granted by Portugal to refugees from Ukraine are given automatically and initially lasted for one year, with the Government passing a resolution in March this year extending the granting of this document for six months.

Data sent to Lusa by the Foreigners and Borders Service indicate that since the start of the war on February 24, 2022, Portugal has granted 57,390 temporary protections, 34,602 of which to women and 22,788 to men.

Of the 57,390 temporary authorizations, 14,434 were granted to minors, representing around 25% of the total, according to the SEF.