ICMCEUROPE WelcometoEurope.pdf (5.89 MB)

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Chapter VI - European Resettlement Programmes
Refugee Status, Permanent
Residency & Citizenship
Refugees arriving through the
resettlement programme receive
Convention refugee status or subsidiary
protection. To date, all resettled
refugees have been granted refugee
status. Resettled refugees are granted
a five-year residence permit, which is
renewable unless prevented by cessation
of refugee status, or concerns
related to national security or public
order.
Refugees can obtain a 1951 Convention
Travel Document on request from SEF,
and refugee status is automatically
extended to family members born after
arrival.
After a six-year period of legal residency
in the country, refugees may
apply for citizenship. Applicants for citizenship
are required to demonstrate
Portuguese language proficiency at A2
level. 60
Family reunification
In addition to immediate family
members - married partners, children
under 18, parents of children under
18 - other family members who are
eligible to join through family reunification
are:
60 Common European Framework level A2 (‘elementary
level’)
• unmarried partners;
• children over 18 if legally incapable
of caring for themselves/single and
attending education;
• married children under 18;
• adopted children of the applicant
and/or his/her partner (on legal
recognition of the adoption by
Portuguese authorities);
• parents and parents-in-law of adult
legal residents (on demonstration of
direct dependency); and
• unrelated minors in the care of the
principal applicant (on legal recognition
of guardianship by the
Portuguese authorities).
Convention refugees are exempt
from requirements to prove sufficient
income or accommodation for
incoming family members.
Resettlement in
Practice
Linking Phases
How is information transferred between
selection and reception of refugees in
order to prepare for their arrival?
Forwarding pertinent information
from Refugee Referral Form (RRF) to
integration actors
RRFs are passed to CPR by SEF
during the selection process, and
CPR’s advisory opinions on each case
identify information gaps on the