Brexit woes haunt Goan migrants
If the UK exits the European Union these settlers, many of whom are Catholics, fear becoming stateless
Bosco de Sousa Eremita
United Kingdom
June 23, 2016
  • Mail This Article
  • Global Pulse Print
  • Global Pulse More


People from Goa who settled in the United Kingdom by first becoming citizens of Portugal may find their status in jeopardy if Britain exits the European Union. They fear become stateless.

At least 20,000 people from Goa, the Indian state that was once a Portuguese colony, evaded stringent rules on non-EU citizens coming to the United Kingdom by taking advantage of a Portuguese law that allows anyone born before 1961 to apply for a Portuguese passport and thus become an EU citizen.

Numbers swelled after 1986, when Portugal joined the EU. Migrants were able to skip their former colonizers and head straight to the United Kingdom which they saw as more stable with a better quality of life.

Catholics accounted for a large number of migrants. They had a long history of working with the Portuguese and their cross-cultural upbringing allowed them to slip effortlessly into the European job market.

Recently, the numbers of Catholic immigrants spiked following the rise of Hindu fanaticism in Goa that denied them equal opportunities amid growing corruption.

Non-Catholics, who resisted the Portuguese fusion of East and West, which gave Goans their distinct identity, tended to refrain from applying for Portuguese passports.

Because of their assimilation of Western culture, even under-qualified Catholics made it to European nations such as France and later settled in the United Kingdom helped by families that had settled there years earlier.

Large numbers of immigrants offered host countries a chance to become selective and many highly qualified persons could only find low paying jobs. They suffered this in the hope of winning a better future for their children.

Now most of their children attend university, expectations are running high that this new generation of Goans in the UK will eventually hold prestigious positions in Europe.

"We are here for the sake of our kids," said Fonia D’Costa, currently employed at McDonald’s. "We do not intend to return home, except for holidays, because Goa is no longer the same. This is not the Goa my parents lived for."

The 23 June referendum, known as "Brexit," could adversely affect Goan migrants by denying them benefits from public funds until they are granted permanent residency after five years.

Political analysts say Catholics and other migrants from Goa were forced to leave when India failed to give Goa what China gave to Macau: special political status including dual citizenship and status for the Portuguese language which allowed people to access jobs abroad.

Macau, smaller than Goa, got autonomous status in 1999. China not only asked Portugal to continue their occupation of Macao for a few more years following the end of the lease period, but allowed Macau to maintains its own legal, immigration and monetary system which aided Chinese economic growth.

Unfortunately for Goa, anti-Portuguese sentiments cut deep and the scab has been ripped off by pro-Hindu organizations who demand that Goans with Portuguese connections be punished and treated as foreign nationals.

With the state poised to go to the polls next year, the federal government is keen to start identifying Goans holding dual citizenship. It’s feared this will further disenfranchise them and also sideline progressive Hindus.

Christians, mostly Catholics, number some 25 percent of the 1.4 million population. They traditionally supported the Congress Party and the deletion of their names from electoral rolls will benefit pro-Hindu parties.

If all those who have Portuguese links and passports are disfranchised, there will not be many Goan Christians voting in the upcoming elections. That may be one reason why the Congress Party has been supporting a dual-citizenship arrangement.

India currently does not allow dual citizenship but has made revolutionary changes in the law creating new categories such as, Non-Resident Indians, Persons of Indian Origin and Overseas Citizens of India to recognize the rights of Indians living outside India.

Political analysts feel that if the government has the political will, it can find a solution that includes the concerns of those who left India’s shores for better prospects. Those who technically lost their Indian citizenship due to Registration of Births in Portugal also deserve similar treatment as Overseas Citizens of India.

There is a pressing need to resolve this matter humanely rather than resorting to blind technicalities and bowing to right wing pressure. A community should not be harassed because they believe in the religion of former colonizers

Bosco de Sousa Eremita is a journalist who researches the issues of immigration and changing demographics in Goa, his homeland.
