The Government’s proposal to speed up the issuance of work visas for immigrants, to solve the problem of the lack of workers in Portugal, could institutionalize a practice that already occurs and is known as “hot bed”.
The alert to this possibility is made by entrepreneurs in the real estate sector when the Government suggests speeding up the issuance of visas as long as employers of immigrants guarantee decent accommodation to these workers.
Currently, issuing work visas to foreigners can take about six months. The Government’s objective is to reduce this period to less than a month at a time when in strategic sectors for the economy, such as civil construction.
The shortage of workers is even putting the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) into question, which could lead to the Portugal assigned to it.
Therefore, the Government wants speed up the entry of immigrantsbut with the condition that they are guaranteed decent housing.
Now, when the country faces a housing crisis Given the lack of real estate and excess demand, there are enormous risks of abuse.
Irregular immigrants are already subject to the “hot bed”
One of these risks is the so-called “warm bed”a practice that already occurs “in some regions of the country”, as mentioned by the general manager of the real estate company Portugal Singular Realties, Murillo Penchel.
The “hot bed” basically refers to the rotation of immigrants in the same bed, with one person sleeping during the day and the other at nightfor example.
There are “undocumented immigrants” subjecting themselves to this type of situation, points out Penchel, stressing that there are cases of “40 people living in a two-bedroom apartment“.
“You need to know How the Government will monitor contracts and what will effectively be considered decent housing”, warns Penchel, highlighting that, currently, national authorities do not even “have the means to monitor the works that are in progress across the country”.
Employers “will transform warehouses into homes”?
Businessman and lawyer Bruno Gutman also tells Público that the Government’s proposal opens up a problem for employers due to difficulty finding accommodation. “Are you going to transform deactivated warehouses into homes? Are you going to build the properties or rent them?” he asks.
Faced with these difficulties, Brazilian businesspeople suggest that the Government adopt measures to “stimulate civil construction” in order to build more properties, suggesting “tax reduction” and the reduction of bureaucracy.
They also advance the possibility of allocating agricultural land for housing construction, especially in areas where houses are more expensive.
“There are options for the current problems in the housing area to be resolved and prevent more immigrants from putting pressure on the market”, concludes Penchel.
