portugal no mundo

Many Goans have been asking details about the Portuguese Nationality Law and how to apply for Portuguese Nationality. They often refer to it as "Portuguese Passport". The term "Portuguese Passport" is not correct. One should not address it as merely a passport. No. It is much more than that.

It is important that people realise this before applying. If you decide to apply for it, you will be applying for a Nationality and not merely a passport.

Why can Goans apply for Portuguese Nationality ?

I remember Mr. Alfredo de Mello posted long time ago a very good historic introduction to this in GoaNet mailing list:

"Under the government of the Prime Minister, Marqus de Pombal, around 1757, by a Royal Decree signed by King D. Jos I, all Portuguese Indians (Goa, Damo and Diu) were granted Portuguese Citizenship, and equal status under the law, with the Metropolitan Portuguese.

This was unique. No other colonial power ever granted such a status to the inhabitants of their colonies. Not in the 18th, 19th or 20th century! In that respect, Portugal was unique. Neither the British, nor French, nor Dutch, ever granted such a status as far as their Asian possessions were concerned. When Portugal became a Republic in 1910, the new Constitution granted the Portuguese Indians (not so to the African colonies) exactly the same prerogatives and status, as Portuguese Citizens. (During the monarchy, they were subjects, just as any Portuguese from Lisbon was a subject).", said Mr. Alfredo de Mello.

Perhaps this is the reason why so many Goans feel they are different from the rest of the Indians. Maybe that is why Goans can integrate so well in the western societies. I feel there is in many cases a strong inherited sentiment of distinction and most Goans are proud to be Goans not only because of their own achievements but also because this feeling has been transmitted from generation to generation. In the British and Portuguese African colonies, the distinction was quite visible. The reality today is different and majority of Goans born in Goa after 1961 naturally identify themselves with India.

In Portugal, Goans are fully integrated in all fields of the Portuguese Society and refuse to identify themselves as a minority group and indeed they are not officially recognised as such. The total number of people of Indian origin living in Portugal today exceeds 100,000 (Catholics, Hindus and Muslims) and they are the second largest Indian Community in Europe (after the UK). Majority of these 100,000 people is of Goan origin and it is believed to be the largest Goan community in the world living outside Goa. For some strange reason, one hardly hears about the Goans living in Portugal and it almost looks like they hardly exist but the figures prove exactly the opposite.

In 1926, Portugal ended more than a century of liberalism and 48 years of authoritarianism began with a military dictatorship under President General Oscar Carmona. Prof. Dr. Oliveira Salazar became a dictator in 1930 and his first highly racist Colonial Act of 1930 discriminated Portuguese Indians, differentiating them from the Metropolitan Portuguese. With the 1930 Colonial Act, Portuguese Indians became a sort of second-class citizens, losing a great deal of perks, such as free trips to Portugal for furloughs, emoluments became lower than those of the white officials, and other facilities that the white Portuguese had overseas were not available to Portuguese Indians.

This discriminatory Portuguese Colonial Act of 1930 was repealed only in 1950, in part thanks to the contribution of Prof. Dr. Froilano de Mello (Mr. Alfredo de Mello's father) who was a brilliant Goan doctor and independent MP in Lisbon, representing Goa in the Portuguese Parliament. He openly and bravely fought for the rights of Portuguese Indians. From 1950, Goans recouped their status and were treated again in equal terms just like any other white Portuguese citizens from the metropolis.

On 18th December 1961, the Indian Army invaded Portuguese India and the Portuguese forces in the territories commanded by Governor General Vassalo e Silva surrendered, violating strict orders from Salazar to resist until the last man. Salazar wanted Portuguese Indians to feel that Portugal did not abandoned them and provided laws to keep them as Portuguese Citizens. Many Goans left Goa at that time and were welcomed in Portugal. This helped Portugal to take the case to the United Nations. Portugal kept fighting diplomatically in the United Nations for Portuguese India until 1974. Only in 1975, Dr. Mario Soares, representing a new Democratic Portugal, recognised the annexation of Goa, Damo and Diu and re-opened diplomatic relations with the Republic of India.

After the Portuguese Democratic Revolution of 1974, independence was officially given to all overseas territories (except to Macau because China declined the offer) and the Portuguese Nationality Law became very important in order to determine who retained Portuguese Nationality.

It is important to say that after 1975, the "Antigo Estado da India" (Goa, Damo, Diu e Dadr e Nagar Avel before 19 December 1961) was given somehow a special status under the Portuguese Nationality Law. Decreto-Lei n. 308-A/1975, 24th June - "Lei da Nacionalidade Portuguesa" Arttiicle 1. Clause (e), clearly says that all those born in the "Antigo Estado da India"(Goa, Damo, Diu e Dadr e Nagar Avel before 19 December 1961) who declare their intention to retain their Portuguese Nationality are entitled to do so. Other ex-Portuguese colonies citizens were given a period of time to decide if they wanted to remain as Portuguese citizens or if they wanted to adopt the nationality of the new independent countries (examples: Angola, Mozambique, etc). The citizens from Antigo Estado da India, on the other hand, were not given a period of time to decide if they wanted to continue being Portuguese citizens, which means that they are still entitled to declare they want to continue being Portuguese Citizens today.

After 1961, many Goans burnt their Portuguese passports in public freedom fighter demonstrations. Others mastered the art of writing against the Portuguese rule like there was nothing else more useful to do in Goa. It was very much in fashion to be a freedom fighter and it paid quite well as well in all sort of benefits, privileges and public recognition. They seemed to be quite happy with their new Indian citizenship. But Portugal suddenly changed after joining the European Community in 1986. The old and poor country suddenly transformed itself from night to day and became modernised, advanced and much more European. So, many of the individuals who wrote and demonstrated against Portugal actually turned their coats and shameless claimed back their Portuguese Citizenship in a savage call for opportunism. Suddenly, a door to Europe was opened and the opportunity was too good to be wasted.

The number of applications increased exponentially after 1986 and Portugal started receiving pressures from Europe to change Portuguese Nationality Law but everything remains unchanged so far.

The Portuguese Nationality Law also grants citizenship to descendants of Portuguese citizens. Therefore, even if one was only born yesterday, but had a grandfather or grandmother who was born in Portuguese India before 1961, this person can apply for Portuguese nationality.

Unfortunately, a large number of false applications was detected. People from outside ex-Portuguese India were impersonating Portuguese Indians (through false birth certificates) and claiming Portuguese citizenship as well. The whole process became with each passing day, more and more complex and today, there is a very strict and lengthy process to check the veracity of all submitted documents.

It is not so rare anymore for Indian origin people to have a Portuguese passport.
In fact, many people of Indian Origin (other than Goans) have one because they were living and working in the ex-Portuguese African Colonies. The Hindu community in Lisbon is large and most of them came from Mozambique and Angola.
Taking advantage of that fact, lately, many other Indians have succeeded in obtaining false Portuguese passports. There are people ready to pay lakhs of rupees to have a false one. I have personally met in Paris some Indians from Gujarat who managed to buy these false Portuguese documents for lakhs of Rupees. They were happily selling French souvenirs on the roads of Paris and apparently doing very good business. You might be surprised how I got this information from them. Well, my wife Bernadette started talking to them in Hindi and they felt so much at home that they have told us their most important secret. They had entered Europe through Poland and Germany with a false Portuguese passport and are aware of the big risk they are taking but they did not seem to be worried at all.

It was recently made public in the Portuguese press that Masood Azhar, the famous Islamic Kashmir leader demanded to be released by the December 1999 Indian Airlines hijackers, was in possession of a false Portuguese Passport when he was arrested in 1994 in India.

http://www.geocities.com/paulocd/PortNatLaw.htm

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