| Five percent of the total population of Portugal are Ukrainians [message #354] |
Sat, 01 March 2008 21:36 |
 eurofan
Messages: 143
Registered: January 2008 |
Senior Member |
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Some two hundred thousand Ukrainians reside in Portugal, essentially all new arrivals over the last seven years. Only one third have legal status. The composition is gender equally diverse, children, and average age in the late thirties, highly educated. Their lines of employment range from desk administrative positions to construction and taxi driving. In March 2005, a treaty between Ukraine and Portugal took effect regarding migrant workers, affording opportunities to procure workers’ visas for not more than one year with extension possibilities pursuant to contract with a Portuguese employer. The treaty provides for full protection and security afforded to indigenous employees. However, statistically, few have arrived pursuant to this treaty.
The presence of the government of Ukraine is palpable through a very active embassy in Lisbon and a recently opened consulate in Porto in the northern part of the country. In fact, a second polling station was established as an exception for the March 2006 election at the consulate. Since trade between Ukraine and Portugal is negligible (seventy million last year), the major function of the embassy and consulate is dealing with issues of Ukrainian citizens abroad, providing consular services (issuing passports to newborns, extending passports for Ukraine’s citizens, etc.), enabling voter participation etc. Portugal tends to import primarily from its former colonies, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Timor and Macau. Nevertheless, despite rising unemployment, Portugal remains receptive to immigrants as one third of all Portuguese reside outside of Portugal, not including those residing in Brazil. Ukrainians rank third among immigrants in Portugal.
The preeminent Ukrainian community organization is a national coordinating body – the Association (Spilka) of Ukrainians in Portugal with almost twenty branches/affiliates. The Association has established good relations with Portuguese government institutions, in particular, with those relevant to immigrants, i.e. the High Commissioner for Immigration and Ethnic Minorities as well as municipal authorities which often provide funding for projects as well as accommodations for administration, schooling and the training and performances of cultural ensembles. The Ukrainian Catholic Church functions in tandem with the community and benefits greatly from the largesse and support of the Portuguese Catholic Church and its Lisbon Patriarch (Cardinal). The Ukrainian church answers directly to the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Ukraine.
The UWC president met with Ukraine’s diplomatic officials, particularly Ambassador Rostyslav Tronenko who accompanied the UWC president throughout the visit, Portugal’s High Commissioner on Immigration and Ethnic Minorities, and numerous high level officials of the City of Lisbon. Additionally, meetings were held with the Association leadership, its branches, and representatives of the media, the Ukrainian catholic churches in Lisbon and Fatima and the Saturday school in Lisbon. The community appears headed for long term existence with significant clout as today it constitutes five percent of the total population of Portugal.
http://www.eurocup2012polandukraine.com
Euro 2012 Ukraine & Poland
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