Portugal has so far granted almost 55,000 temporary protection permits to people fleeing the war in Ukraine, some 25% of which are minors, the immigration and borders service, SEF, announced on Monday.
Since the start of the war on 24 February, Portugal has granted 54,976 temporary protection permits to Ukrainian citizens and foreigners residing in Ukraine, 32,259 of them to women and 22,717 to men, the latest update by SEF states.
Among the cities in Portugal that granted temporary protection permits, Lisbon topped the charts with 11,933. Cascais (3,381), Porto (2,760), Sintra (1,856) and Albufeira (1,348).
SEF also reveals that it has communicated to the public prosecutor the situation of 735 Ukrainian minors who arrived in Portugal without parents or legal representatives, cases in which there is considered to be no “present or imminent danger”.
The request for temporary protection in Portugal can be made through the online platform created by SEF, available in three languages.
However, in the case of minors, it is compulsory to go to a SEF branch to confirm their identity and parentage.
The military offensive launched on 24 February by Russia in Ukraine has already caused the flight of more than 13 million people – over six million internally displaced persons and over 7.7 million to European countries – according to the latest figures from the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
(Célia Paulo | Lusa.pt)
Source: euractiv.com
