Paulo Cafofo was speaking to the press at the end of the meeting he had with his counterpart, Domingos Vieira Lopes, and said that his trip to Angola has as main objective to discuss with the Angolan authorities the Mobility Agreement, signed within the scope of the Community of Speaking Countries Portuguese (CPLP).
The Portuguese official stressed the need to improve the operation of the aforementioned agreement, "and that this improvement should result in simplification and better visa procedures".
Paulo Cafôfo admitted that “there are some bottlenecks, despite significant improvements”, stressing that in comparison to the same period of 2021, almost 9000 visas have already been made, “more than 800 percent compared to the previous period”.
"This is a sign that there are improvements, but that we want to substantiate them in a clear and objective way and we have solutions for that, namely the issue of increasing our consular staff, which will already be a reality and which will enable a significant increase in the number of visas that are processed monthly at our consulates", he said.
According to the Secretary of State for Communities, this increase in consular employees will also be associated with the new model of consular management, which will imply new technological and digital tools for simplification and better accessibility to services provided at the consulate, particularly in the matter of visas.
"In addition to human resources, technological tools, we will introduce mechanisms, already in June, to reduce or avoid the hoarding that happens in appointments, which in an unlawful way there are those who are usurping and profiting from it, we do not want and for that reason, mechanisms will also be introduced in this sense", he stressed.
The Portuguese Secretary of State for Communities, who undertook an effort to materialize these improvements, urged him to comment on the problems encountered in the process of scheduling visas, said that there are companies "that end up usurping and using the system to have their own profit".
"From our point of view, in an unlawful way, and therefore, what we are going to do is not related to any problem with our employees, with consular functioning, here the issue is that we can have mechanisms that avoid this hoarding and introduce mechanisms better effectiveness and efficiency in speeding up visas, in the sense of reducing time and processing the largest possible number of visas in a short space of time", he added.
Recently, the authorities announced the arrest of individuals who were working with the embassies of Portugal and Brazil, promising those who need a visa this service in exchange for money.
The Portuguese official said that Angola is a political priority in Portuguese foreign relations, highlighting the recent visits to the Portuguese-speaking African country by the Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs, João Cravinho, and the Secretary of State for Cooperation, Francisco André.
"Here I am, in a clear sign of our political priority in external relations with Angola. And our presence here is symptomatic and a sign of the strengthening of this relationship that we have the ambition to deepen", he underlined.
In his speech, the Secretary of State for International Cooperation and Communities, Domingos Vieira Lopes, stressed that Portugal continues to be the destination for many Angolans, whether for study or for health and tourism issues.
Domingos Vieira Lopes asked for special attention to health visa applications, which "has encountered some difficulties".
"The patient needs to be able to clearly convey what he has and whoever is listening also needs to understand it, hence the preference for Portugal is understandable", he said.
According to the Angolan official, the sick person is usually accompanied by a family member, asking for understanding in this regard.
"Everything else we think that things have been going normally, we also hope that if you have any difficulties on your side in the consulates of Lisbon and Porto that you will expose them, and we will correct what is not going in the best way", he highlighted.
