Welcome to the Week em Breve, a wrap-up of important Portuguese news to keep you up to date and in the know.
Crime statistics are less bad
The number of registered criminal offenses in Lisbon went down 7.6% last year, and 4.6% in Portugal overall, according to the 2024 Annual Internal Security Report (Relatório Anual de Segurança Interna de 2024 – RASI) cited by Público.
While that may seem like a major improvement, 2024 numbers are still higher than anything recorded between 2015 and 2022, according to the data.
And the volume of serious or violent criminal “occurrences” rose 33.3% in Santarém, 30.5% in Castelo Branco and 30.4% in Portalegre.
Get your Portuguese visa faster, if you have a job lined up
For those seeking a Portuguese visa, good news is hopefully on the way, as Portugal plans to streamline the work visa process through something called the Cooperation Protocol for Regulated Labor Migration, according to EuroWeekly.
It’s not quite here yet, but the government is finalizing a deal under which processing a work visa could take as little as 20 days — that is, for those with an employment contract, health insurance, and proof of accommodation provided by the employer, and in some cases guarantees of training and language instruction.
Young people in Portugal think news sucks
It’s hard to believe, we know, but the youth here think the news, regardless of where it comes from, is boring, or biased, or tendentious, or has a negative impact on their state of mind, or a combination of those things, according to the YOUNDigital project, which includes a survey of 1,362 people aged 15 and 24 years old who live in Portugal, Público writes.
Amazing, no, given the rosy state of affairs here in Portugal, in Europe, and the world at large?
Such as:
Home rent in Portugal jumped 10.5% in 2024
For the second year in a row, the median rent for new residential rental contracts in Portugal rose by 10.5%, reaching €7.97 per square meter in 2024, according to the Statistics Portugal (Instituto Nacional de Estatística – INE) data cited by Público.
Not if you’re looking in Lisbon, of course — here, it’s now €15.98 per sq m, although that only represents a 4.6% increase.
Porto rents climbed 7.3%, to €12.58.
Want something cheaper? Median rent was down in at least 15 municipalities, including Pombal, Monsaraz, and Arraiolos (the latter fell to €4.20, according to Público).
Portugal issues a travel warning. For the U.S.
After harrowing tales of detention at the U.S. border, Portugal has joined the ranks of European countries updating their travel advisories.
The Portuguese foreign ministry confirmed to Newsweek that it issued new guidance, warning that obtaining a visa or an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA — an automated approval for visits up to 90 days) doesn’t guarantee entry. That’s to be determined “by the border agent upon arrival in U.S. territory,” according to the guidance.
The ministry also warned Portuguese visitors against making false statements about the purpose of their visit, warned that combining a trip to the U.S. with a jaunt into Canada or Mexico may not be so prudent, as “re-entry may be questioned,” and “advised” visitors to fill out arrival forms with the gender they had been assigned at birth, according to Newsweek.
Get ready for war, Europe
The European Commission will unveil a guide for citizens and governments this Wednesday with strategies for preparing for war, cyberattacks, more pandemics, and gnarly weather events due to the climate crisis.
The guide, seen by El País and Politico, will include some information for an emergency household kit designed to ensure self-sufficiency for 72 hours in case of “large-scale intersectoral incidents and crises, including the possibility of armed aggression, affecting one or more Member States,” according to CNN Portugal.
This includes water, food, medicines, batteries, and presumably torches, aka flashlights.
Stay tuned for Atlas’ own Disaster Survival Kit, aka “flight bag,” coming shortly — we put one together ages ago just for fun!
Khem.
