Portugal will begin to accept the Brazilian CNH (National Driver’s License) as a valid document to drive in the country. The decision was promulgated this week by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and will take effect after being published in the Diário da República, the Portuguese Official Gazette.
Until then, to drive legally, it was necessary to exchange the Brazilian driver’s license for the Portuguese one. The authorities granted a period of 90 days, counting from the date of the residence permit in Portugal, for foreigners to make the request. During the period, the CNH could be used.
After this initial period, and for a limit of up to two years, immigrants continued with the possibility of requesting the exchange, but they no longer had the right to drive using the Brazilian document. At the end of the two-year period, always counting from the date of the residence permit, foreigners lost the right to automatic exchange, and it was also necessary to pass a practical driving test.
Although the countries have an agreement that allows the exchange of the license in a simplified way, the process usually drags on for months to complete. The change also came up against the need for foreigners to have their migratory status regularized to issue a Portuguese driver’s license.
With the burden on the Foreigners and Borders Service, it is common for regularization processes by work activity – the most common route of Brazilian immigration to Portugal – to drag on for two or three years. During the period, even those with a valid driver’s license were prevented from driving.
Even when banned, many immigrants end up taking a risk behind the wheel, especially outside urban centers, where public transport is deficient. Driving a car without a proper license generates a series of punishments, including fines and possible seizure of the vehicle.
When the sanctioned measure now takes effect, the Brazilian CNH can be used in Portugal until the end of its validity, when, then, the change to the Portuguese document must be carried out.
A resident of Lisbon, Vivian Andreozzi, from Rio de Janeiro, celebrated the change. When the Aliens and Borders Service finally issued his residence permit, his driver’s license had already expired. Thus, she had to travel to Brazil, since the renewal of her CNH cannot be done by proxy.
“I was worried, because my residence permit is about to expire and I couldn’t apply for automatic renewal either. [o sistema para emitir documentos para estrangeiros regularizados também enfrenta atrasos]. It was great to wake up today and know that I will be able to drive in Portugal”, he says.
The change was approved by the Council of Ministers on June 15, when the government also announced the launch of a major package of new visas for the country. The right to drive with the document from the country of origin, which was already valid for the European Union and the United Kingdom, among others, was also conquered by the other members of the CPLP (Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries): Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe and Timor-Leste.
The nations that are part of the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) also have this right. Brazilians visiting Portugal for tourism can drive normally with their CNH for up to 185 days, without the need for additional documentation.
