Goans driving Portuguese migration to UK

Thousands of people have opted for Portuguese passports in recent years, using a provision in Portuguese nationality law that confers citizenship to those born in Goa, Daman and Diu before its liberation by India on December 19, 1961.

New figures released by a center of the University of Oxford have revealed the scale of Goan migration to the United Kingdom via the Portuguese passport route: 24,000 of the 54,000 Portuguese citizens who moved here in quarter 1 of 2015 were from India.

A scenic view of the Swindon town, to where Goans have got backdoor entry, thanks to their Portuguese inheritance and the Portuguese passport rules. (iStock photo)

Thousands of people have opted for Portuguese passports in recent years, using a provision in Portuguese nationality law that confers citizenship to those born in Goa, Daman and Diu before its liberation by India on December 19, 1961.

In an analysis of trends in European Union nationals born inside and outside the EU, the Oxford Migration Observatory said: “The only group larger than 10,000 with a common EU country of citizenship and a common non-EU country of birth is Indian-born Portuguese citizens. This group accounted for just over 20,000 UK residents in the first quarter of 2015”.

Of the 2,64,000 EU nationals who moved to the UK in 2015 first quarter, Portugal tops with 54,000, of whom 24,000 were born in India, the centre said.