Portuguese Passport for Goans – Question your Agent

The transcription of birth of a person born before 19 Dec 1961 takes a maximum of 1yr. I have received many enquires via e-mail about process which are more than a year old. The applicants are helpless, as they have no clue about the procedure to find out the information about their process. Each time they visit the agent who had helped them he/she plays the same story " next moinea Portugula sun letter ieatoli" (next month you will receive a letter from Portugal) to make it sound professional he included his advocates name in this reply. Six months later, the applicant still has not received any letter from Portugal.

The correspondence is delivered to the advocate who had submitted the process in Lisbon – Portugal; therefore as told by the agent in Goa, I am not sure whose letter will come to the applicant as the correspondence is forwarded to the advocate.

This is just the beginning, ask for the advocates name and telephone number and IF supplied by the agent make the call to him/her in Portugal some of you might be surprised the so called your appointed advocate does not even recognize you by your name and all the information. The local agents just informed you that the advocate in Portugal informed him that you will receive a letter shortly.

Many agents in Goa pay the advocates just to submit the papers once the papers are submitted and the CRC number is obtained the advocates job is over. All the correspondence from the Conservatoria is received by the advocate, and then forwarded to the garbage bin.

The worst part is, updates of your process can only be obtained by the advocate appointed by the agent for you since he has the Power of Attorney on your behalf. There are also some highly influential advocates use their charm to get information without the Power of Attorney, but the information is only verbal nothing in writing.

The Conservatoria takes 7 days to reply to your letter requesting update on the process, it's time for all the applicant whose cases are pending for more than 6 months to ask their agents to provide the written reply from the Conservatoria which will help you to get the true facts/updates on your case.

I would really appreciate if the viewers of this blog question their agents and write the reply in the comment section. Many Goans will be spared by reading your helpful comments.

If you wish to find out about your process click HERE

Portuguese Passport for Goans – Marriage Registration in Portugal

The Portuguese Consulate here in Goa advises you to apply for Bilhete de Identidade or BI to register the marriage. The BI takes approx. 3- 4 months to arrive after the application is made at the Portuguese Consulate in Goa. To make a BI application you need to make an appointment that is scheduled only after 6 – 8 weeks. I feel this is waste of time since you can directly register your marriage in Portugal soon after the transcription/registration of the Birth.

To register your marriage in Portugal for Portuguese Passport (Goans) you need to appoint an attorney or a lawyer in Portugal. Or if you have any relations or friends living in the close proximity of the Conservatoria than they can submit your documents for Marriage registration for Portuguese Passport.

The Lawyers charge Euro 100 to register the marriage and they guarantee the marriage registration for Portuguese Passport in 45 days or earlier. The registration fee to be paid to the Conservatoria is Euro 100.

Documents required to register Marriage in Portugal for Portuguese Passport for Goans are:
1. Copy of Assento do Nascimento ( of euro 16.00)
2. Birth Certificate of husband/wife whose birth is not registered in Portugal.
3. Marriage Certificate from Sub – Register.
4. Marriage Certificate from Church.

Excluding document # 1 (Assento do Nascimento) all others have to be notarized, attested by the Collector and than by the Under Sectary (Home Department). All documents should be in Portuguese if they are in other languages they have to be translated in Portuguese and both the copies have to be notarized, attested by the Collector and Under Sectary (Home Dept) before submission. To find a professional translator click HERE

To find a lawyer to register your marriage in Portugal click HERE or send e-mail to goanewz@gmail.com

Portuguese Passport for Goans – Old Document

For South – Goa applicants who are in need of the Original Document to apply for Portuguese Passport in Goa, you can find your original birth certificate in the office of the Dy. Director of Education, which is located above BDO near Holy Spirit Church Margao. The office has the actual original Birth Certificate and is willing to give it to the actual owner of the birth Certificate.

These certificates were produced to the Education Department to identify the age and the name to administer vaccination. Most of the records are from 1950 to 1961 and if you happen to be 6yrs old during this year's than you should be able to find your Original Birth Certificate in this Office.

The entrance to this office is located opposite the Holy Spirit Church Margao and it is on the first floor. There is a helpful woman by the name of Antoinette who will help you with the books, do take some eatables or fruits for this woman on your visit

Portuguese Passport for Goans – Without the Original Old Document

The Portuguese administration had introduced a new law for obtaining the Portuguese Nationality for the nationals of Estado da India (Goa). This law prevented many genuine nationals of Estado da India (Goa) from applying to Portuguese Nationality. Many cases are pending in Conservatoria due to non – availability of this Old Document for Portuguese Passport.

After a lengthy correspondence to lawyers in Portugal and Conservatoria it is established that Portuguese Nationality for Goans can be obtained without this Old Original Document. The process is lengthy it takes approx. one year to register birth and marriage and it is expensive too. The total cost would run to approx. Euro 1800.00.

There are two people involved in this process, one being the attorney and the other person is engaged to monitor the process. It has become a human tendency to forget about the files that are buried on the work desk to search for these files and to move this files the second person is engaged. This help in speeding the Portuguese Nationality Process.

For more information about Portuguese Passport without the Original Document send e-mail to goanewz@gmail.com or leave a comment HERE.

Portuguese Passport for Goans – Original Document (Old Document)

The Original Document is any document that was issued to an individual by the Portuguese Government Administration during its regime in Goa or before 18 December 1961. The different original Documents that are required by the Portuguese Consulate in Goa or Conservatoria dos Registos Centrais – Lisboa are:

1.      Documento Para Viagem

This Document was issued to nationals of Estado da India to travel outside of Estado do India. In simple terms, this was called the travel document. If you did have one than there is a copy of this document with the Director of Archives – Panaji

2.      Bilhete de Identidade

This document also known as the ID card was necessary for every national of Estado da India. It was form of an ID card which had to be presented to any Government Office to prove your identity.

3.      Certidao Narrativa

This document is also known as the Birth Certificate. This was issued then by the Portuguese Government administration .

4.      Passaporte Portugues

Portuguese Passport this was issued by the Government Administration in Estado da India.

This documents have to be of the Individual who makes the application for the Portuguese Nationality however if you were born in or after 1948 than you can use your parents Old Document.

Many people have burned their Old Document on the eve of libration day for those who had treasured these documents are fortunate to attain Portuguese Nationality without any difficulties.

Portuguese Nationality is obtained without the Original Document also. For details click HERE

Former Portuguese Colonies in India

COCHIN - 1500 - 1663

GOA - 1510 - 1961

BAÇAIM / BASSEIN ( VASAI ) - 1528 - 1739

CHAUL / KORLAI - 1521 - 1740

DAMAO ( DAMAN ) - 1559 - 1961

BOMBAIM ( MUMBAI ) - 1534 - 1665

DIU - 1546 - 1961

MANGALORE - 1570 - 1710

SAO TOME DE MELIAPORE ( MADRAS ) - 1552 - 1749

UGOLIM ( HOOGLY ) - 1579 - 1632

DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI - 1779 - 1954

Portuguese Passport for Goans – Professional Translation

Most of the Goans who have applied for the Portuguese Passport or Portuguese Nationality have little or no knowledge of the Portuguese Language. As per the Portuguese Passport for Goans guideline all documents have to be in Portuguese Language if they are in any other language they have to be translated in Portuguese. The Portuguese Authorities in Conservatoria dos Registos Centrais look for quality and correct translation including the grammar. Therefore, these applicants approach people who can read, write and speak Portuguese. There are many such agents available in Goa who will help you do the translation for a price, we cannot verify the quality of the translation since we are uneducated in Portuguese Language.

After research, I managed to find a person who translates from Portuguese to English and English to Portuguese. He is an author of several books published in Mumbai and Goa. He has volunteered to help the visitors of this blog to do the translation. We have fixed the charges of Rs.120.00 per document including notarization.

Generally, all other translating agents charge Rs.100.00 per documents. The charge of Rs.120.00 per documents is levied to avoid exploitation.

If you need the services of Translation, please click HERE

Portuguese Passport for Goans – Pending Process Status

Majority of the applicants who have applied for the Portuguese Nationality are in serious need of updates of their process status. The so-called Portuguese Passport Agents in Goa are of no help in this matter. They advise you to send a letter to the Conservatoria dos Registos Centrais and they draft the letter and charge you Rs. 200 – 300 for this letter than it is your duty to mail it or fax it. Many such letters are either lost or send to the garbage bin in Portugal, some do get replies. The Portuguese Agents have no connection in Portugal even if they tell you they are good friends with employees working at the Conservatoria.

I have embedded the form below this post, which is THE required form to get any information from the Conservatoria dos Registos Centrais. You can print the form and e-mail it to the given address or mail it.

If you need help click HERE

Info Form

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