The complaints concern parish councils from different geographical areas of the country and not just Lisbon, said the source from the Ombudsman's Office.

Lusa had questioned this body after it became known that the Arroios Parish Council, in Lisbon, refuses to issue residence certificates to immigrants from countries outside the European Union without a valid residence permit in Portugal.

At issue is a notice signed by the president of the Arroios Parish Council, Madalena Natividade (elected on the "Novos Tempos" coalition list, of PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança).

Dated 9 February, the notice states that the council now requires a valid residence permit (rental or purchase of a house) to issue residence certificates to non-EU foreign citizens, despite the law stating that for this certificate the testimony of two people registered in the parish or a declaration of honour by the person requesting the document is sufficient.

In its response to Lusa, the Ombudsman's Office confirms the existence of four complaints, but emphasises that these are not limited to the issue of residence certificates, being "based on the knowledge of very disparate practices", albeit with the rights of migrants as an "essential component".

In view of the complaints, the body decided to carry out "a broader analysis of the exercise of the certification powers of the Parish Councils and their legal framework".

The case of the certificates led around a hundred people to demonstrate, on 19 April, in front of the Arroios Parish Council, a parish where citizens of dozens of nationalities live, many of whom are in a precarious situation.

"The residence certificate is not only necessary for the regularisation process with the Portuguese State: it is a document necessary for registering at the health centre, for opening an account in most Portuguese banks and for enrolling in schools," said the organisations that called the protest, including Casa do Brasil, Habita and SOS Racismo.

The groups are concerned about the replication of the measure elsewhere, mentioning that the parish councils of Campanhã (Porto), Beato (Lisbon), Caparica and Laranjeiro (both in Almada) have already "followed the path of making the possibility of regularisation and well-being of migrants virtually impossible".

The actions of the Arroios Parish Council had already prompted a protest by dozens of doctors, nurses and social workers from the São José Local Health Unit, one of the most important in central Lisbon.

The Arroios Parish Council "further increases the already high difficulties that this community faces on a daily basis, creating unnecessary barriers and running counter to universality in access to healthcare," they criticised, considering the measure "abusive".

The residence certificate is an essential document to guarantee the proper contributions and moderate fees for people in an irregular situation, which includes vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women.

At the time, when questioned by Lusa, the president of the Arroios Parish Council, Madalena Natividade, replied, in writing, that she is obliged to "strictly comply" with the law within the scope of her duties and legal powers, which includes being "prevented from issuing documents containing statements and other decisions that are not in accordance with the applicable law".

For the parish council's executive, before issuing a residence certificate, the local authority "has the duty" to "request that the applicant proves that he or she is, in fact and by law, the holder of a valid residence permit".

The decision to limit access to residence certificates by some parishes was contested by the previous Socialist government and by the representatives of PS, BE and CDU in the parish of Arroios.

Questioned by Lusa on 22 March, Lisbon City Council, managed by Carlos Moedas, who led the "Novos Tempos" coalition, which also elected the president of the Arroios parish council, replied that it has "no comment to make on the matter".

In an opinion issued in March, the National Association of Parishes (Anafre) argued that the issuing of residence certificates to foreign citizens by parishes does not require the presentation of any residence permit because it is not the competence of these local authorities to assess the legality of immigrants' stay in the country.

Leia Também: Parlamento unânime na condenação pelos ataques a imigrantes no Porto (Portuguese version)