Portuguese Brazilians
Portuguese Brazilians (Portuguese: luso-brasileiros) are Brazilian citizens whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Portugal. Most of the Portuguese who arrived throughout the centuries in Brazil sought economic opportunities. Although present since the onset of the colonization, Portuguese people began migrating to Brazil in larger numbers and without state support in the 18th century.
For the Portuguese dialect, see Brazilian Portuguese.According to Portuguese law, any Brazilian who has at least one Portuguese parent or grandparent is eligible to obtain Portuguese citizenship (with some restrictions, especially for grandchildren). Five million Brazilians (2.5% of the population) fall under this category. Many more people are of Portuguese descent however.[2]
The Portuguese prerogative[edit]
According to the Constitution of Brazil, the Portuguese people have a special status in Brazil. Article 12, first paragraph of the Constitution, grants to citizens of Portugal with permanent residence in Brazil "the rights attached to Brazilians", excluded from the constitutional prerogatives of Brazilian born. Requirements for the granting of equality are: habitual residence (permanent), the age of majority and formulation of request from the Minister of Justice.
In Brazil, the Portuguese may require equal treatment with regard to civil rights; moreover, they may ask to be granted political rights granted to Brazilians (except the rights exclusive to the Brazilian born). In the latter case, this requires a minimum of three years of permanent residence.
The use of citizenship by non-Brazilian nationals (in this case, Portuguese) is a rare exception to the principle that nationality is a sine qua non for citizenship, granted to the Portuguese – if with reciprocal treatment for the Brazilians in Portugal – due to the historic relationship between the two countries.
The Portuguese in contemporary Brazil[edit]
Portuguese people are the largest immigrant community in Brazil. In the 2000 census, there were 213,203 Portuguese immigrants in Brazil.[37]
In the late 1990s and the 2000s, some Portuguese pensioners have been moving to Brazil, mainly to the northeast, attracted by the tropical weather and the beaches.[38]
The Portuguese crisis in 2010 and 2011 led to higher immigration of Portuguese citizens to Brazil. In the first six months of 2011, with the economic crisis in Portugal a record number of 328,826 Portuguese citizens made their situation regular in Brazil.[23] This wave of Portuguese immigration to Brazil included large numbers of highly qualified and experienced professionals.[24]