Visas suspended for Iranian nationals - no explanation given

Portugal has suspended visas for Iranian citizens for security reasons, the foreign minister said in committee on Tuesday, but he did not explain why.

in News · 16 Jul 2019, 16:21 · 5 Comments

"Yes, we have suspended [visas for Iranian citizens] for security reasons," Augusto Santos Silva said in response to a question from centre-right Gonçalves Pereira MP.

The minister asked, however, not to explain the reason while the parliamentary committee was taking place with journalists present, assuring that it will give "all the explanations" at the end of the session, behind closed doors.

"I will give explanations but not in public for security reasons," he said, adding that Portugal "does not play with entries into national territory".

Augusto Santos Silva was being heard today in a Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee.

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Comments

Suspending visas according to nationality is the violation of the human right to non-discrimination. There is no difference between Portugese and Iranians. They are all human beings. If politicians are not able to distinguish between human dignity and political games, I am wondering how they could help the enhancement of their nations while they are not even aware of the basic priniciples of humanity

By Ladan from Other on 17 Jul 2019, 09:20

Symptoms of stupid nationalism on the rise. The average Americans desire, to drive a gas-guzzling Ford F-150 or similar, has done more harm to the planet and indeed to Portugal than any Iranian national ever will.
Let’s see Portugal even try to apply the same collective punishment to U.S. Citizens.

By Mehdi from Other on 17 Jul 2019, 10:21

Good! We don't need any anti semitic Islamist bullshit in our country.

By Nuno Fonseca from Lisbon on 17 Jul 2019, 23:01

The Portuguese are quite diplomatic, they wouldn’t make such a difficult decision unless there was something serious taking place that could affect their security and economy. They border with Spain and not far from Gibraltar!

By Anna from Madeira on 18 Jul 2019, 23:17

If Iran backfires and suspenses visas for Portuguese, they won't be happy! Iran has been a very common travel destination for Portuguese since 2018 since Portuguese who have a low income compared to other EU nationals can't afford to travel to anywhere else.

By Peter from Algarve on 27 Jul 2019, 21:54