Resposta às Propostas da Home Secretary Theresa May

BRAZILIANS are already in the UK in great numbers — the Office for National Statistics puts the figure at 60,000 but based on passport renewals and Home Office applications we believe there are 260,000. For the Home Office to tighten up visa requirements at this stage isn’t going to control the illegal immigration in the form of overstaying that already happens. Indeed it’s ironic Theresa May is making this proposal now when current provision to enable voluntary return is much less effective than before 2010, when thanks to a specific department devoted to Brazil, Brazilians were the number one nationality returning home voluntarily.

Brazilians are here to find work and are successful at doing so across all sectors of the economy, with a 95 per cent employment rate. They are paying rent and council tax and buying in shops. Whereas there are justifiable security concerns around nationals from some other countries, Brazilians aren’t involved in gangs, rarely in organised crime and don’t have links with terrorist groups. The Home Secretary risks undermining the UK economy and pushing Brasilia into harsh reciprocal provisions for British visitors to Brazil — madness in the run up to the World Cup and Rio Olympics.

Carlos Mellinger, Casa do Brasil em Londres