Every day, Portugal fines almost two tourists for staying longer than expected in the country
The articles written by the PÚBLICO Brasil team are written in the variant of the Portuguese language used in Brazil.
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The Public Security Police (PSP), which assumed responsibility for inspection at Portugal’s airports after the extinction of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF), applied almost two fines per day in the last 12 months to tourists who stayed in the country beyond their deadlines and to people who did not respect the time defined in their entry visas. According to the PSP, 555 punishments were issued during this period. The fines varied between 40 euros and 250 euros (R$ 240 and R$ 1.5 thousand), according to a note sent to PÚBLICO Brasil.
For the Article 192 of the Foreigners Lawthe Border Authority, in this case the PSP, can charge up to 700 euros (R$ 4.2 thousand) from tourists who exceed the 90-day period of stay in Portugal, a period that can be extended for another 90 days, as long as it is authorized by the Agency for Integration, Migrations and Asylum (AIMA). The police, however, assure that this maximum value has not been practiced, as it is only applied in extreme cases, which has not occurred.
The PSP informs that, if tourists and people who, despite having visas, disrespected the law are willing to pay the fines voluntarily, the values are halved. “This reduction is also provided for by law”, assures the police. The most frequent fines have been used to inhibit extra stay in Portugal, which resulted, in several cases, in requests for Expression of Interest, now prohibited by the Government. Through this instrument, foreigners could formalize their desire to reside in Portugal and legalize their situation.
Bigger problems
For the Decree-Lei 41Aon June 28 of this year, the Government allowed people with expired visas and whose period of stay in Portugal had expired to remain in the country without punishment. But, with one caveat: visas and entry permits must have expired, at most, 15 days before the law was enacted. If the irregularity occurred outside this period, the PSP informs that everyone is subject to paying fines when they leave Portugal or if they are caught by the immigration authorities.
No one is obliged to pay these fines when leaving the airport, when returning to their countries of origin, but, as lawyer Fábio Pimental, from the CPPB Law firm, points out, the risk is that Portugal will include the debts in the Schengen Area system, the which will result in bigger problems. This is because, when fined people return to any country in the European Union, they may be barred. Lawyer Célio Sauer draws attention to another point: the fact that several of the fines issued by the PSP do not contain the details of the people fined, neither names nor document numbers, which prevents the right to appeal against the charge. “That’s not correct,” he says.
