Despite BREXIT (Britain’s Exit from European Union (EU)) came into the force three days back, Goan enthusiasts did not stop queuing outside the Portuguese consulate at Altinho. According to the sources, just to get inside the consulate, Goans queue up outside from the previous night that too in these rainy days. What is the reason behind these efforts? Read the complete report here.
[su_expand more_text=”READ MORE” less_text=” ” height=”0″ hide_less=”yes” link_style=”button” link_align=”center”] For many Goans, the Portuguese passport or Bilhete de Identidade (BI) is the most an essential document to get into European countries via Lisbon. According to the reports, Goan enthusiasts are ready to take any trouble to get their Portuguese passport done. The government of India laid down various restrictions on the dual citizenship and asked the Goans to surrender their BI to remain the citizen of India but this seems not making any difference to the existing situation.
According to the news reported by Lisa Monteiro in TNN, Braving the monsoon, fighting off sleep and largely unperturbed by Britain’s decision to exit the European Union (EU) three days ago, Goans continued to queue up outside the Portuguese consulate at Altinho early Monday morning. Why this kind of enthusiasm is there in Goans to reach to Europe despite the decision of BREXIT from EU?
Read: How 20,000 Goans managed to enter the UK with the help of Portuguese passport?
According to one of the aspirants named William D’Souza (Name Changed) most of his relatives are in Europe and he also wants to be with them. “Most of our relatives have migrated to the UK. My parents went there recently and I was waiting for my brother to complete his engineering course to join them,” says D’Souza, who is sure he’ll bag a job in UK’s hospitality industry.
To get himself inside William reaches to Portuguese Consulate early in the morning at 2 am just to find out that people are already queued up their much before him. William supposed to have traveled 55KM from his south Goa residence along with his younger brother to his aunt’s house in Panaji on Sunday to make sure that he reaches first to the consulate to collect his Bilhete de Identidade (BI) on Monday. But when he reaches the consulate on the early morning of Monday he finds out that around 15 people are already waiting there.
This kind of thing really needs a huge amount of determination. According to the sources, most of the people are eager to enter the UK with the help of BI to get better opportunities there. D’souza claims to have completed a course in catering and has already obtained a Portuguese Passport. The major reason behind people queuing at Portuguese consulate early morning is to make sure they get inside the consulate within the specified time since there is no system of appointment for any type of consular services. Applicants are attended on a first come first serve basis and working hours begin at 9am.
According to the reporter when she asked him about the risks of going to the UK after the announcement of BREXIT he says “Nothing to worry about and in case if the problem comes there are other available options in the UK such as France, Germany, and other European countries. Worst to worst we can always back home.
According to reports not alone the Goan but people from Daman and Diu also waits in the line to collect their BI and passport. A man from Daman says Britain choosing to exit the EU isn’t the end of the world and he lists a number of countries he has the opportunity to migrate to if he faces problems in the UK. Another man, who came directly to the consulate from the airport following his flight from Diu, also has his eyes set on the UK. “My parents and relatives have been living there for over a decade now. There are absolutely no job prospects for us here. How can I run a household and raise a family with a salary of 5,000?” he asks.
The above story makes one thing clear that many Goans leave the state in the search of better opportunities since according to them there are no opportunities in the state. But the recent decision of the government to stop dual nationality seems to have no effect on the aspirants. According to you what will be the outcome of this situation? please leave your valuable comments.
Source: TNN
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