Portuguese repatriation operations in conflict areas tend to focus on their safe return, but there is another issue that is raising doubts: the cost borne by those who are brought back to Portugal. In this case, the amount that repatriates from the Middle East will have to return to the State.
In the early hours of Monday, a third repatriation flight organized by the Portuguese authorities arrived in Lisbon, this time with 61 passengers on board, including 54 Portuguese.
The operation started from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after a group that was in Qatar went overland to Saudi territory, and also brought seven foreign citizens from Canada, the United Kingdom and South Korea, according to RTP.
With this new arrival, the total number of people transported on the three flights organized directly by Portugal since the beginning of this operation rises to 247, of which 217 are Portuguese. The first two flights, arriving in Lisbon on March 7, brought 186 people in total: 147 on a chartered TAP plane, including 139 Portuguese taken from several Gulf countries, and 39 on a military flight from Israel, including 24 nationals.
Amount that the State will charge
The Government has indicated that each passenger repatriated from the Middle East will have to reimburse the State with 600 euros, an amount mentioned by the Secretary of State for Communities and also repeated in the context of the flight that arrived in Lisbon early today.
Still, it is important to make a distinction that does not always appear clearly in the news: the 600 euros does not appear in the law as a fixed fee written in black and white for any repatriation.
What the diploma establishes is the obligation to reimburse expenses borne by the State, with this amount of 600 euros being the amount that the Government is applying in this specific operation, according to the same source.
What the law really says
The legal basis is in the Consular Regulation, approved by Decree-Law nº 51/2021, of June 15th. In article 32, § 3, it is stated that repatriation “is carried out through a declaration of commitment by the rescued person to reimburse the State for the value of the respective expenses”, which means that the legal principle is the payment of the expenses of the operation, and not automatic gratuity.
Article 33 of the same diploma goes further and determines that the repatriated person must sign the reimbursement commitment statement, pay the amount due within 30 working days and, if they are unable to pay everything at once, they can request payment in installments.
Exceptions in case of economic insufficiency
The law also provides an exception for situations of economic insufficiency proven by a document issued by the competent local authority, in which case repatriation can proceed without this prior declaration, according to information published in .
In practice, this means that no one is automatically prevented from returning because they do not have money at the time of the operation, in the case of the Middle East, but the legal framework maintains the obligation to reimburse the State afterwards. This is why the Government has insisted that repatriation is not paid for on departure or arrival, although the cost is later charged to the covered passengers.
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