Fifty health professionals accuse the council of not having "legal support" to adopt the measure of limiting the granting of residence certificates to immigrants from countries outside the European Union.
Fifty health professionals this Friday demanded the Parish Council of Arroios, in Lisbon, to "immediately suspend" the decision to limit the granting of residence certificates to immigrants from countries outside the European Union.
In a press release, the fifty doctors, nurses and social workers integrated into the São José Local Health Unit, one of the most important in the center of Lisbon, accuse the council of not having "legal support" to adopt that "abusive measure ".
At issue is a notice signed by the president of the Arroios Parish Council, Madalena Natividade (elected on the lists of the "Novos Tempos" coalition, of PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança).
Dated February 9th, the notice announces that the board started to require a valid residence permit (rental or purchase of a house) to issue residence certificates to foreign citizens outside the EU, despite the law establishing that this certificate is The testimony of two people registered in the parish or a declaration of honor from the person requesting the document is sufficient.
With this decision, the Arroios Parish Council "further increases the already high difficulties that this community faces on a daily basis, creating unnecessary barriers that are contrary to universal access to healthcare", criticize the signatories.
The residence certificate is an essential document to guarantee the appropriate contributions and user fees for people in an irregular situation, which includes vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women.
"In addition to the health of the immigrants themselves, the public health of the entire community is also put at risk, as free and regular access to vaccination and the appropriate approach to communicable diseases that pose a danger or threat to public health are compromised", they denounce. health professionals.
Health professionals go further and accuse the junta's leadership of following the "extreme right-wing political agenda, which is intolerant and violates the principles of both the National Health Service and the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic itself".
The decision by the Arroios Parish Council has already caused indignation from the socialist Government and several political parties.
The Deputy Minister of Parliamentary Affairs repudiated the decision, considering that it limits the rights of immigrant citizens.
"It is the responsibility of local authorities, namely municipal councils, to monitor the number of people living in homes and the conditions in which they live, but they should not exceed these powers, namely by requiring residence permits to obtain a residence certificate", stated the office by Ana Catarina Mendes, in a written response to Lusa.
Eleven associations and groups supporting migrants also repudiated the Arroios Junta's decision, warning that it "intensifies the criminalization of immigration" and makes "the process of regularizing migrants, the enjoyment of their rights and the fulfillment of their legal obligations" difficult. .
In a written response to Lusa, the president of the Arroios Parish Council, Madalena Natividade, highlighted that the municipality is obliged to "strict compliance" with the law within the scope of its legal attributions and powers, which includes being "prevented from issuing documents that contain statements and other decisions that do not comply with applicable law."
For the board's executive, before issuing a residence certificate, the municipality "has the duty" to "request that the applicant provide proof of being, in fact and in law, the holder of a valid residence permit", under penalty of unable to grant the request.
Arroios is a parish where citizens from several countries live, concentrating dozens of different nationalities, many of which are in a precarious situation.