There are «around 60 to 70 thousand Brazilians» living in the south of Portugal, in the area under the jurisdiction of the Consulate General of Brazil in Faro, which encompasses the Algarve, but also a large part of Alentejo, namely the districts of Beja, Évora and the Municipalities of Alcácer do Sal, Grândola, Santiago do Cacém and Sines, belonging to the district of Setúbal.
The estimate is made by the new Consul General of Brazil, who took office in Faro for less than two months and has dedicated these first weeks to getting to know the region, but also the problems and aspirations of the Brazilian community.
In an interview with Sul Informação, Consul José Estanislau do Amaral Souza Neto said that most of these Brazilians are in the Algarve to work or study.
The exact data on the number of citizens from Brazil residing and working in the Algarve are difficult to ascertain, since, clarifies the diplomat, “there is no obligation to register at the consulate”.
What is known is that Brazilians are the largest foreign community in Portugal, reaching, in 2020, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), 183.875 legal residents. But these numbers are flawed, since they leave out Brazilians with dual Portuguese nationality or even those who are in the legalization phase (currently, few remain in a situation of illegal immigration).
For its part, the Algarve is the second region in the country, after Lisbon, to welcome more Brazilians. Data from the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) for 2019 pointed to about 13400 Brazilians officially residing in Algarve lands. With the pandemic and the closure of many workplaces – hotels and restaurants, for the most part – many Brazilians returned to their country, but the reopening of borders, without restrictions, last September, allowed the resumption of the arrival of people from that country. from South America.
Consul José Estanislau Souza Neto says that there are “two large contingents of Brazilians who are here: one is young people, and they are really very young, who come to work in the service, hotel, and restaurant sectors”.
«I've already talked to several directors of entities that represent the hospitality sector and they all say that Brazilians are an excellent option, which in general are well qualified for this sector. Many come to study in the Algarve and then do internships and training here», he added.
«I am staying in a hotel here in Faro, where more than half of the staff are young Brazilians, who come from all regions of the country. In general, they are people who already speak a second language or sometimes even a third language, in addition to Portuguese».
Then, revealed the consul, «there is another community of Brazilians who come here, a smaller percentage, which are those who work in civil construction. With these, we have a little less contact, they only come to the Consulate in search of our services».
Em Faro, there is also an important community of Brazilian students at the University of Algarve, in degrees, masters and even PhDs. Students from Brazil are indeed the largest foreign community in the Algarve academy. Why this affinity with the University of Algarve?
José Estanislau Souza Neto has no doubt that one of the reasons is the common language, which facilitates adaptation. «Secondly, there is the strong publicity that the University of Algarve has made of its courses in Brazil. They've been doing a lot of publicity work there and then there's word of mouth. And finally, there is another concrete factor that is very important: the University admits candidates based on the score of the Brazilian exam, the ENEM. The University accepts highly rated students to take the course here. So it's a set of favorable circumstances».
The consul also highlights the fact that Portugal and the Algarve can be, especially for Brazilian students, a gateway to the European Union. «An interesting thing, which I have already observed talking to some students: many tell me that they are very happy to be here, but they see Portugal as a gateway to the wider market of the European Union. The other day, he was talking to a 23-year-old girl and she said she was very happy here, but she saw her future working in the hotel industry in Germany. She is taking a course to learn German. So there's this: the Algarve is a gateway not only to Portugal itself, to work later in Lisbon, but also to other regions of Europe. Because here in the Algarve there is a lot of seasonality. So these workers also suffer a little from this, often there is no sequence of work in the winter months».
As for investment by Brazilian companies and entrepreneurs in the Algarve region, the consul points out that, «if there is interest from Brazilians to come here, it will be more in the hotel sector, restaurants and everything else». However, he admits, "there's not a big move right now, otherwise I'd be aware."
What Brazilians with purchasing power are most looking for in Portugal is security and a home, an investment that may even give them easier access to a golden visa or dual nationality. José Estanislau Souza Neto says that «there is demand from Brazilians for residence, but throughout Portugal. Brazilians are buying real estate. There is a bit of everything. People who have a second home or a high-end third home. There are also people who come here retired, because Portugal offers the specific type of residence visa for retirees».
At the top of the priorities of these wealthy Brazilians are Lisbon, Porto, Braga, but the Algarve, even because of the milder climate, could be a future option. «I talk a lot with Reinaldo Teixeira, honorary consul, who is a businessman in this area of real estate», to «see how we are going to dynamize this business part».
Even in terms of tourism, which has increased exponentially in recent years from Brazil to Portugal, Brazilians are still not found out the Algarve. The diplomat considers that this is perhaps due to the fact that Algarve tourism is largely based on the beach, «and we have that in Brazil». «If you go to Porto, or Lisbon, or any city in the north of the country, Braga, Bragança, Guimarães, it is impressive to see the amount of Brazilian tourists you find there… Here in the south it is more difficult».
There is therefore much work to be done. However, admits the new Consul General of Brazil in Faro, «I haven't had time to get my hands dirty yet. My first priority is to put the Consulate in order to serve the Brazilians who are already here. This I think will quickly be resolved and we will then start looking at other things».
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