POLÍTICA DE IMIGRAÇÃO EM PORTUGAL

Foi hoje divulgado o relatório das Nações Unidas: Development Report 2009 - Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development

São muito positivas as referências à política de imigração em Portugal. A questão das migrações e, em particular, o fenómeno da imigração, é uma das áreas mais sensíveis da política social de qualquer governo estabelecendo, em regra, uma linha divisória entre políticas de direita - restritivas, quando não repressivas - e de esquerda - reguladoras e integradoras. As referências, contidas neste Relatório, à política de imigração, adoptada em Portugal, pelos governos socialistas, são um pequeno contributo para provar a desnecessidade da participação do CDS/PP em qualquer governo. As medidas que o PP preconiza para a imigração (um dos seus “nichos de mercado eleitoral”) são erradas, desnecessárias ou, em última análise, já foram adoptadas.

Deixo alguns excertos do Relatório nos quais é citado Portugal (sublinhados meus):

Developed countries, which have more migrants, also tend to have rules that provide for better treatment of migrants. For example, India has the lowest score on provision of entitlements and services to international migrants in our assessment, but has an immigrant share of less than 1 percent of the population; Portugal has the highest score while having an immigrant share of 7 percent. (página 38)

Movement sometimes deprives internal migrants of access to health services if eligibility is linked to authorized residence, as in China. In contrast, permanent migrants, especially the high-skilled, tend to enjoy relatively good access, while in some countries health care is open to all migrants, regardless of their legal status, as is the case in Portugal and Spain. (página 56)

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In OECD countries migrant pupils generally attend schools with teachers and educational
resources of similar quality to those attended by locally-born pupils, although there are some exceptions, including Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands and Portugal. (página 59)

Nevertheless, extension of temporary permits is possible in many developed countries (e.g. Canada, Portugal, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States), and some developing countries (e.g. Ecuador and Malaysia). Whether the permit is renewed indefinitely may depend on bilateral agreements. Some countries grant the opportunity for migrants to convert temporary into permanent status after several years of regular residence (e.g. in Italy after six years, and in Portugal and the United Kingdom after five). This may be conditional on, for example, the migrant’s labour market record and lack of criminal convictions. (página 98)

Several European countries provide language courses for newcomers through programmes offered by central government, state schools, municipalities and NGOs, such as the Swedish for Immigrants programme that dates back to 1965, the Portugal Acolhe programme offered since 2001, and the Danish Labour Market programme introduced in 2007. (página 104)

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