m2m2012

Does anyone know or as heard where Ukrainians arriving in Portugal are housed? I should say that I've already looked the special government website to help Ukrainians but there are no specific details...I'm hoping that someone on this forum may know something or have heard something.

I have a friend in Ukraine who wants to leave the country with her teenage son...she is sort of okay for now but in a very stressful and unstable situation and her elderly father doesn't want to leave. She will not have any money to rent a apartment if she were to arrive in Portugal.

What is the general feeling in Portugal towards Ukrainians fleeing to Portugal? I friend in Denmark told me that there "...with regard to Ukrainian refugees in Denmark, more and more are coming, although of course it is only a fraction of what countries like Poland receive. The individual municipalities have tried to find housing for those who come, but the capacity of vacant buildings is starting to become a problem. Yesterday I heard the Danish Minister of Integration talk about the construction of new temporary 'pavilions' (buildings, not tent cities) close to where we live. The mood and attitude of the Danish population towards the Ukrainian refugees is really positive (unlike the many refugees who came from Syria / Africa a few years ago) - I'm pretty sure that Ukrainians will feel well received."

Is the attitude in Portugal towards Ukrainians similar?

Alan PT

I think rather than a big national programme, you are more likely to see local initiatives like this https://www.cm-peniche.pt/anuncio-5/...5-930191453a0d

There's also this platform which is international (but was built with a lot of support from Portuguese companies and Portuguese developers): https://www.wehelpukraine.org/Home.aspx

Portugal is a lot more welcoming than many larger, richer countries

Rambling archer

Not sure which website you looked at, but Safe Communities on Facebook linked to this site for anyone wanting to offer help to Ukraine (approved also by Brits in Portugal which has connections to the British Embassy in PT) https://wehelpukraine.org/
and there is also this site https://portugalforukraine.gov.pt/
perhaps you can make contacts there?

m2m2012

Thanks for your replies. I'll have a look at these links. She is in Russian held territory in southern Ukraine. She will have to flee south into Crimea then travel north inside Russia and cross into the EC at Estonia, and from there get to Portugal. Crossing into Ukrainian held territory from where she is would mean crossing the front line which is difficult and very dangerous. She's gathering her things now and planning to leave in a week...there's no fighting near her town at the moment...hope it stays that way at least until she leaves.

m2m2012

I guess she'll go where to she is offered accommodation, work and free language lessons are available...but if she's given a choice would a place like Porto be better than say Leira for a person in her situation? Both these cities have programs for Ukrainians apparently. She speaks very good English which will be a help.

m2m2012

She's planning to travel from her town in southern Ukraine to Crimea next Tuesday.

Finding accommodation in Portugal isn't going to be easy it seems; saw this on Facebook (translated from Portuguese) :

Good afternoon everyone . I now have two Ukrainian refugee families in my home. It wasn't planned, it happened. The house is small . Even then we all get along.
I would like to ask people for help in finding an apartment in Odivelas to rent for a family (from a mother and a 5-year-old son). Can pay rent of 600 a month. I know it's hard to find, but maybe someone can help me. Of course the Ukrainian lady has no IRS, nor a work contract. Me and my husband can go as fishers. She already works and can pay her rent. I hope someone can help. We are desperateit’s been a month since we haven’t been able to get them a house to live in.

I still cannot figure out if she arrives in Portugal with no money and accommodation organised...where will she end up? A sports hall or a tent city maybe...or no help at all?

Alan PT

I don't know what more you are looking for here and I'm a bit confused by your posts

If you are asking - should she come to Portugal if she has no friends here (you are not here now?), nothing arranged here, then I'd say ideally not, perhaps another country closer to her might be a better option. It's not clear why Portugal is her choice?

If you are asking - as a friend, how can you get in contact with people to help her here then use the links already provided, but also (if you are still in PT) you should try contacting your local council and asking there. If she is looking for work here then perhaps people could make some suggestions of how to do that, depending on the type of work

It's going to be hard, whatever she does, even with help it's a terrible thing to have to do. We have some friends in Ukraine who chose to stay, despite the risks, some who chose to leave but hope to return

Red Eric

^^



There's another link here which might also be of use - it seems to have slightly more general info in the one place, with pointers to where else to look / contact. UKRAINE: INFORMATION AND SUPPORT AVAILABLE IN PORTUGAL

Agree totally with Alan - arriving unannounced may not be the wisest move. There was some mention in the news of well-intentioned actions on the part of people looking to help in any way they could, including private individuals going to the Ukraine border to fetch people, without having organised anything for them accommodation-wise on arrival, leading to inevitable problems. Difficult though the scenario obviously is, perhaps your friend might be best advised, if she possibly can, to scope out the situation here through any of the agencies dealing with this day to day.

m2m2012

Thanks for your replies. I'm not in Europe at the moment, I fly in at the start of June. I have not make the move to Portugal yet; I am planning for 2023. In my first post above I quoted a friend in Denmark who had seen/heard that construction of housing for Ukrainians had began near where he lives...that's the purpose of my post here,..I just want to get a sense of what is happening in Portugal with housing Ukrainians ...have any of you seen or heard or know anything on the topic? Where are new arrivals being housed...in tents or ??? She'll take what she gets but it would be good to have some idea of what lays ahead.

Once she gets to Crimea she will have better access to the internet and will apply online for temporary protection in Portugal, SEF has a special website to do this. I've also emailed her a list of websites where she can ask for help with travel, accommodation, etc.

She'll probably stay in Crimea a week or two to regroup her thoughts. She convinced her father to leave with her but he will not be traveling to Portugal...he will go and stay with his other daughter. She could stay longer in Crimea and wait for me to arrive in Europe so I could meet her once she crosses into Estonia from Russia. We're not sure what's best...she fears that Russia may close it's borders with NATO/EU and then she will not able to leave that way. So she may decide to make her way to Portugal before I get to Europe.

m2m2012

Update, she and her son made it to Portugal and are being hosted by a Portuguese family near Arouca. This small town/village seems to have quite a few Ukrainians being hosted by families there and apparently the town has an Ukrainian flag hoisted. Good news. Anyone near this place?