Office of the Historian

Chargé Fletcher to the Secretary of State.

American Legation,
Lisbon, Portugal, July 16, 1906.
No. 244.]

Sir: I have the honor to forward herewith a translation of the regulations governing the entry, residence, etc., of foreigners in the colonial possessions of Portugal, which were promulgated by decree of July 4 last.

And to be, etc.,

Henry P. Fletcher.
[Inclosure.—Translation.]

Regulations governing the entry, residence, etc., of foreigners in Portuguese colonial possessions.

It being found advisable to adopt measures which may facilitate the admission, residence, exit, and transit of foreigners in our colonial possessions, I deem it wise to decree as follows:

  • Article 1. Foreigners are freely admitted into the colonies without a passport or any other document allowing their admission or establishing their identity; they are, however, required to present themselves within three days after their arrival to the administrative authority of the place where they entered the province, in order to secure a legal residence.
    1.
    The following are excepted:
    (1) Consular agents; (2) foreign travelers, whose stay shall not exceed twenty days; but in every case they must state to the administrative authority the place and time of their stay.
    2.
    The Government may take exceptional measures, when the good of the State demands it, to restrict the free admission of foreigners.
  • Art. 2. A legal residence may be acquired by presenting a certificate of nationality approved by the applicant’s consul, or, if it be impossible to obtain such a document, a passport, which, when approved by the administrative [Page 1245] authority of the district where the foreigner proposes to settle, shall constitute a right of permanent residence.
  • Art. 3. In default of a certificate of nationality or passport, a legal residence may be acquired through a sufficient bond, but if by reason of the foreigner’s lack of acquaintances this can not be done, the administrative authority shall make due note of such declarations as he may make concerning his nationality, showing his name, nationality, age, profession, condition, whence he comes and whither he is proceeding, and any other particulars that may help to identify him shall likewise be mentioned. In such a case article 4 of the decree of July 17, 1871, and the third section of article 2 of the general police regulation of April 7, 1863, shall be followed.
  • 1. The party concerned shall have issued to him a permission of residence when he shall have complied with the terms of the preceding article.
  • Art. 4. Treaty stipulations relative to the subjects of various nations are not affected by the two preceding articles.
  • Art. 5. The document which constitutes a legal permission of residence, when once viseéd by the proper consular officer, where such exists, and by the administrative or police authority, shall serve as a safe conduct or permission for free transit if the foreigner change his residence within the province or leave by land or sea.
  • Art. 6. Foreigners who do not secure a legal residence, or present themselves to the administrative authority within the space of time prescribed by this decree, shall undergo a fine of from 5$000 to 20$000 reis, and if they do not then secure a legal residence, they may be obliged to leave the country within the time fixed by the governor.
  • Art. 7. If, after having secured and established a legal residence, foreigners commit actions which endanger public safety or refuse to obey the laws of the land, or in any other manner transgress the laws of the realm, they shall be immediately ordered to leave the province within certain time.
    1.
    When the administrative and police authorities of the district in which the foreigner resides shall have been informed of any act such as those described in the preceding article, they shall investigate the matter, and shall transmit the investigation, with due comment thereon, to the governor of the province.
    2.
    If the investigation shall disclose sufficient disturbances of the public order to warrant the foreigner’s expulsion, the governor may expel the foreigner.
    3.
    If the foreigner remain in the province after he has been ordered to leave, he shall be forcibly expelled and shall be conducted to the frontier by the public authorities.
  • Art. 8. An expelled foreigner reentering the province shall be captured and imprisoned for not less than fifteen days nor more than six months, and shall be again expelled.
  • Art. 9. The administrative authorities shall send every month a note to the governor of the district, informing him of all matters concerning strangers within his jurisdiction, and the governors of the districts shall send copies of such reports to the governor of the province, that a registry of the foreign population may be made.
  • Art. 10. The fee for a legal residence shall not exceed 500 reis, inclusive of the proper stamp, all official registries, vises, and references being gratuitous.
  • Art. 11. Foreigners who have received condemnatory sentences, who have committed crimes, and who are under the special vigilance of the police, shall reside subject to the proper criminal legislation.
  • 1. Foreigners who have been twice condemned for vagrancy can be expelled from the province.
  • Art. 12. Foreigners who enter a province within a year from the day when this decree shall go into execution and do not acquire a legal residence, shall be obliged to do so within ninety days, under penalty of the provisions of article 6.
  • Art. 13. The provincial governors shall publish in the Official Bulletin such regulations as may seem advisable for the execution of this decree.
  • Art. 14. Contrary legislation is revoked.

The minister and secretary of state for marine and the colonies has thus understood this decree and will carry it into effect.

Palace, 4 July, 1906. King.

Ayres de Ornellas de Vasconcellos.