News from afpop

Good afternoon to you all and welcome to this week’s Member Briefing, following a blip in the force in mid-week. I hope that it didn’t affect you or cause any damage and you actually enjoyed the relative quiet – I know I did. 

There has been some confusion for non-EU residents about passport control and there is a clarification on that below, which we’ve obtained from the airport police commander. This is not about the EES system that is due to come into force later this year, but about passport stamping generally for non-EU citizens. 

Scams are back on the agenda again and there is an important one from Finanças highlighted below and another one reported by Algarve Daily News about a scam letter, not an e-mail this time, that is purporting to be from the Judiciary Police (PJ) about tax debts and blocked bank accounts which should be ignored. I received some news about a parking scam recently, whereby a paper notice is put under windscreen wipers advising the driver that they are guilty of a parking infringement, details of which are included in the QR code on the paper. If you see this, just throw it in the bin and under no circumstances scan the QR code.

In the April edition of UPDATE magazine, we reminded Members about their right to register to vote for local elections, which will happen in October this year. We’ve had news from two Members who took the initiative while they were passing their Junta de Freguesia, to be told that they won’t take registrations for local elections until after the general election on May 18^th, so please don’t try to register before that date.

On a personal note, I have received information that one of our former MC Chairmen, David Rees, has passed away at his home in Australia. David was Chairman in the 1990s and some older Members might remember him. David was the person who created the afpop Member database that we still use today. Whilst deaths are never pleasant to hear about, the passing of former council members who did so much to form the Association and to establish the groundwork that we still follow today is particularly sad. 

With my condolences to David’s family, here is this week’s information:

AIMA documents

If you managed to get an appointment with AIMA (Agência para Integração Migrações e Asilo) be aware that from 28^th of April 2025, applications for residence permits will only be received when they are complete, i.e. when they contain all the documents that the law defines and requires as necessary for analysis and decision. 

Applications for the granting and renewal of residence permits that are not complete with all the elements required under the terms of Law no. 23/2007 of 4^th of July and regulatory decree 01/2024 of 17^th January will not be accepted. Applicants are therefore asked to pay the utmost attention to ensure that they have all the legally required documents and present them at the reception. 

Members will be pleased to hear that AIMA also announced that reinforcement of Human Resources begins in May, with 20 new employees starting work to increase the Agency's response capacity. These new employees make up the first group of contracts that AIMA will be hiring during 2025.

Blue Flags 

The Blue Flag is a symbol of environmental quality awarded annually to river and coastal beaches that apply for the award and that meet a set of criteria. The Blue Flag Program Criteria for beaches are divided into 4 groups: Information and Environmental Education; Water quality; Environmental Management and Equipment; Security and Services. This year

Portugal has 404 beaches, 18 marinas and 22 vessels awarded with the Blue Flag. You can find them on the ABAE website: https://bandeiraazul.abaae.pt/galardoados/galardoados-2025

Passport stamping non-EU citizens
We have been informed by the Airport Control that all other nationalities that are not from the EU (UK citizens that became residents after Brexit, USA, etc.) will have their passport stamped when entering Portugal, whether they are Portuguese Residents or not. Those UK citizens who were Residents in Portugal before Brexit (under the Withdrawal Agreement – article 50), will not have their passport stamped entering Portugal. This will not affect your right to remain in Portugal and we are advised that it will also not cause you a problem in other EU countries, providing you can prove your residence in Portugal, so ensure that you have your residency card with you when travelling across Europe 

From the British Embassy: in October 2025, the EU EES will be introduced Entry/Exit System (EES) and all non-EU nationals, including UK nationals, visiting EU countries will need to register and provide their biometric data (fingerprints and facial image) when they enter the EU’s Schengen Zone. This will replace the current method of passport stamping. We will have further information on this in future Briefings

You should carry your residence card with you when travelling.  If not, you may face difficulties when entering or exiting Portugal and other countries in the Schengen Zone.

Metro Lisbon strike

A warning that Fectrans (Federação dos Sindicatos dos Transportes e Comunicações), the union for Metropolitano de Lisboa (ML) workers, has announced a strike against overtime and special events, starting in May. Their demands are that the transport company increase the lunch allowance and reduce the working week to 35 hours. 

Security alert Finanças

The Tax and Customs Authority (AT) is aware that some taxpayers are receiving e-mails supposedly from the AT, in which they are asked to click on links that are provided and include requests for taxpayers to confirm their fiscal numbers as an irregularity has been identified.

On the Finanças website you will find examples of these phishing scams:

https://info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/pt/destaques/Paginas/Alerta_seguranca_20250416.aspx.

These messages are false and should be ignored. Finanças advises that under no circumstances should you carry out these operations.

As always, our advice is that you don't click on links that you doubt are genuine and always check the emails and SMS sent to you by the AT on the Finance Portal. It’s very simple to log into the AT website and then go to A minha Área and select Comunicações, to see any messages that AT have actually sent to you.

E-REDES warning

E-REDES warns of potential scams regarding work on electricity meters after the power problems this week. Interventions at electricity meters are unnecessary unless customers receive prior notice through official channels. They also clarified that customers will never be charged directly for these visits. 

Fraud Alert | E-REDES

Queima Segura App

We mentioned in our Ground clearance and bonfires article in the last UPDATE Magazine (page 8), that you can download an app called Queima Segura, which can be installed on your smartphone. This app is only available for android operating systems with active mobile data. For other operating systems, you call your local fire department, or use the website https://fogos.icnf.pt/infoqueimasqueimadas/queimasqueimadas.aspx

Living in the Algarve

It was very pleasant to meet with Members in Carvoeiro last week and also to welcome some new Members into the afpop family and we will be present again at the Living in the Algarve seminar that takes place on Thursday the 8^th of May in Lagos at the Cascade Wellness Resort. To reserve a place at the event or for more information, visit the website https://www.livinginthealgarve.pt/ 

Train strikes

Several unions representing CP – Comboios de Portugal workers handed in a strike notice on Tuesday, for the 7^th and 8^th of May, against the imposition of salary increases and other demands. The strike will take place between 00h00 on the 7^th of May and 24h00 on the 8^th of May. Anyone expecting to travel by train on the 7^th or 8^th of May should check the CP website. 

More information can be found here: 

https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/pt/consultar-horarios/avisos

AFPOP Presents… 

A reminder that the AFPOP Presents programme in May and June is focused on Women's Health - Breast Wellness. This topic it will be presented twice in the Algarve area. The first one it will be held in Lagos on the 9th of May and the second one in Tavira on 9th of June (both in the morning time) in conjunction with Associação Oncológica do Algarve. 

Please note that currently there is very little support for these two presentations, which might be cancelled if numbers do not increase. If you are interested, please register via e-mail: apoio@afpop.com.

Satellite Offices 

If you need advice or assistance, wish to introduce a new Member to the Association, need to renew your subscription or just have a general query, please pass by and see us. We ask you to make an appointment and to inform us about your enquiry, so staff can come prepared to assist you. Please contact the afpop office to make an appointment on 282 458 509 or info@afpop.com.   

The next dates of the Satellites are:

• Almancil - Tuesday 27^th of May between 10h00 and 12h30 (premises of MEDAL Seguros)

• Lagos – Provisional date Monday 26^th of May (will be confirmed in the next mailing) between 10h00 and 12h30 (premises of MediLagos on R. José Ferreira Canelas, which is behind the Câmara building)