China Profile - Asociación amigos de Portugal

65 Pages·2001·0.96 MB·English

Country Profile
Portugal
Contents
Welcome 1
Section 1: Background information 2
The territory 2
Map of Portugal 2
Geography 3
Climate 3
The capital city: Lisbon (Lisboa) 4
The people 5
Demography 5
Distribution 5
Language 6
Religion 6
Social customs and modes of address 6
The state 7
History 7
Government 8
International relations 8
The economy 9
Employment and standard of living 11
Section 2: Before you go 12
Cross-cultural preparation and language tuition 12
Travel 13
Getting there 13
Internal travel 15
Driving licence and car insurance 17
Immigration procedures 18
Passports and visas 18
Health regulations 19
Working in Portugal 20
Hotels 20
Health and hygiene 22
Risks and precautions 22
Medical facilities 22
Medical and repatriation insurance 23
Further information 24
Clothing 25
The working environment 25
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Portugal Country Profile
Business practices 25
Local time 26
Hours of business 27
Public holidays 27
Money 28
Currency unit and exchange rate 28
Credit cards 28
Currency controls 28
Banks 29
Tipping 30
Communications 30
Post 30
Telephone 31
Fax 32
Internet 32
Broadcasting 32
Newspapers 34
Section 3: On arrival 35
Customs formalities 35
Personal effects 35
Cars 36
Pets 36
Prohibited items 36
Setting up home 37
Registration and residence permits 37
Accommodation 37
Estate agents/realtors 42
Utilities 43
Domestic staff 44
Security and insurance 45
Education 45
Shopping 51
Weights and measures 51
Facilities 52
Value added tax 53
Food and drink 54
Quality and availability 54
Restaurants 54
Recreation 55
Sports and social clubs 56
Home country rights and duties 56
Addresses and information sources 57
Foreign representation 57
Representation overseas 58
Trade and travel organisations 58
Further health information 58
Information for expatriates 60
Background reading 61
© Employment Conditions Abroad Limited 2001
Portugal Country Profile
Welcome
This guide is a complete and up-to-date package of information intended to brief as well as advise expatriate
managers involved in planning business trips and short- or long-term assignments for employees.
It will also prove to be an informative and valuable guide for employees during their first few weeks and months
on assignment.
We have made every effort to ensure that the information contained in this report is as accurate and up-to-date as
possible at the time of going to press. We are conscious of the fact that events in countries are continuously
changing and we welcome comments and suggestions from our readers which will help us in preparation for the
next edition. If you feel that we have omitted any useful information, or perhaps included something that is no
longer accurate, please write and tell us; address your letter to: The Editor, Country Profiles, ECA
International, Anchor House, 15 Britten Street, London SW3 3TY UK (e-mail: editorsp@eca-
international.com; web site: www.eca-international.com).
To make it easier for readers to find their way around the text, we have a comprehensive system of cross-
references. In addition, we have highlighted important information through the use of graphical icons. The reader
should become familiar with the following icons so that essential information can be picked out quickly:
Checklist of useful information prior
Useful telephone numbers
to departure
Caution advised Cross-reference
Important advice
IMPORTANT
Employment Conditions Abroad Limited is not responsible for the content of external web sites referred to in this
publication.
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Portugal Country Profile
Section 1: Background information
The territory
Map of Portugal
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Portugal Country Profile
Geography
The Portuguese Republic lies on the Atlantic side of the Iberian Peninsula in south-west Europe. It is bounded to
the north and east by Spain and to the south and west by the Atlantic Ocean, having a coastline of 844 km. The
country is roughly 560 km long and up to 200 km wide; the total land area of Continental Portugal is 92 080 km2
while the Portuguese archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores measure 794 and 2 250 km2 respectively. Madeira
lies 900 km south-west of Europe, the Azores in mid-Atlantic, west of Portugal.
Almost a third of the land area is forest and woodland and 43% is cropland or pasture. The country falls into
three geographical zones, corresponding with the climatic areas.
The northern half of the country is mountainous and wooded, with peaks rising to over 1 000 m in the north-east
in the province of Tras-os-Montes. There are vines growing everywhere, the source of the famous Vinho Verde;
the countryside is verdant and rivers (the main ones are the Minho and the Douro) and streams abound.
The central part of the country comprises the provinces of Estremadura, Beira Baixa and Ribatejo. The main
river is the Mondego which rises in the Serra da Estrêla; a tributary, the Dão after which the wine is named. A
large part of the area is a plain where wheat, vines, olives and vegetables are grown. Towards the coast are
forests of pine, chestnut and oak.
Rolling, arid plains cover much of the south, down to the hills behind the Algarve. The vegetation is sparse,
enough for flocks of sheep and goats; olives, almonds and cork oak grow well. The principal river is the
Guadiana, while the Sado which runs, like most Portuguese rivers, from east to west, is a valuable source of
irrigation.
Climate
Continental Portugal has three distinct climatic zones which correspond with the geographical ones. The north-
west, exposed to moist winds from the Atlantic, has abundant rainfall (more than 127 cm annually) although the
months of June to August are generally dry; winters are mild and summers short but warm. There is a more
extreme and somewhat drier climate in the north-east, with long, cold winters and hot summers. Elsewhere, a
Mediterranean climate predominates, with mild, showery winters, pleasant springs and autumns, and long, hot
summers.
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Portugal Country Profile
Climate data: Lisbon (Portugal)
Month Temp. oC (oF) Temp. oC (oF) Humidity % Rainfall
Min. Max. am (pm) mm
Jan 7 (44) 15 (59) 83 (72) 111
Feb 8 (46) 14 (57) 80 (66) 76
Mar 9 (48) 16 (60) 76 (63) 109
Apr 11 (51) 18 (64) 69 (58) 54
May 13 (55) 21 (69) 67 (57) 44
Jun 16 (60) 24 (75) 64 (53) 16
Jul 16 (60) 28 (82) 61 (48) 3
Aug 18 (64) 27 (80) 61 (46) 4
Sep 17 (62) 24 (75) 67 (53) 33
Oct 14 (57) 21 (69) 72 (59) 62
Nov 11 (51) 17 (62) 80 (68) 93
Dec 8 (46) 14 (57) 83 (72) 103
Detailed world-wide, daily and long-range/five-day forecasts are available on-line from a number of
organisations including BBC Weather (web site: www.bbc.co.uk/weather) and CNN (web site:
www.cnn.com/WEATHER).
The capital city: Lisbon (Lisboa)
Built on a series of hills, Lisbon overlooks the wide estuary of the River Tejo (Tagus) in south-west Portugal. It
is the seat of government and the centre of the country’s import trade, with a large, well-equipped port and many
industrial activities.
The low-lying centre of Lisbon was devastated by an earthquake and tidal wave in 1755. It was rebuilt by the
Marquis de Pombal, chief minister of King Jose I, as a district of broad avenues and plain, stately buildings, and
it was the Chiado shopping area in this district that was destroyed by fire in 1988. This has now been renovated.
Older properties are being repaired and refurbished whilst the city authorities are encouraging people to return to
live in the city’s commercial centre. Unsightly posters and graffiti have been removed and buildings cleaned:
Rossio railway station is being restored as a gem of 19th century architecture. A great deal of building work was
carried out in readiness for the city to be the Cultural Capital in 1994. Further building and infrastructure
improvements such as the new 12 km Vasco da Gama bridge over the Tejo were constructed for Expo ’98, a
world fair dedicated to preserving the oceans. A 330-hectare derelict dockland area is being redeveloped as a
new residential and business hub for the city, for completion by 2015.
Medieval neighbourhoods climb the surrounding hills and ridges: Alfama, the oldest, to the east, Bairro Alto
and Madragoa to the west, Mouraria and Graca, survived both natural and man-made disasters and are very
picturesque but run-down; they are a maze of steep alleys, cobbled and car-free. The huge Monsanto Parque is
the city’s largest open space and is split by the autostrada to Estoril/Cascais; other parks include the Botanical
Gardens (Jardim Botanico), the Parque Edouardo VII: the highest part gives good views over the city, and the
Jardim da Estrella. Trams are an excellent, but slow moving, way of seeing the city. For pedestrians, there are
lifts to get up and down the steepest hills. Lisbon’s streets are very congested and ample time should be allowed
for travel. Suburban train services are good, to Cascais and Estoril where the majority of expatriates tend to live,
and to Sintra.
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Portugal Country Profile
Outside the city are huge slums (bairros - districts) where around 300 000 people live, the majority without
sanitation or electricity. Each bairro has its own ethnic flavour - not only from Portugal but Mozambique, Cape
Verde, Macau and, most recently, East Timor.
The people
Demography
The population of Continental Portugal totals 9.79 million, including 750 000 retornados, returnees from
Portugal’s former colonies. There are around 173 000 resident foreigners, many of whom are retired. The
population growth rate has fallen rapidly in recent years, to a current 0.7%. Twenty-one per cent are under the
age of 15 and 13% over 65. Life expectancy at birth is 71.8 for men and 78.8 for women. Population density is
110 per km2 and a third are urban-dwelling (which is very low by European standards).
Migrant workers have been returning from Western European countries in ever-increasing numbers (up to 50 000
a year in recent years); some were forced back because they lost their jobs in Germany or France but many have
saved enough to realise their dream of returning home to their family land in Portugal where they build
themselves a new house and, in many instances, start a small business - garage, car repairs, shop, cafe - run in
conjunction with their small-holding to provide employment for their extended family.
Distribution
Lisbon, with a population of over 2.4 million (including suburbs), is the capital city and seat of government. It is
by far the most important centre for Portugal’s import trade and was, for centuries, the centre for produce from
overseas territories. There are extensive port installations, shipyards, a steelworks and oil refinery, engineering
firms and factories producing textiles and knitwear, cement, chemicals and fertilisers, soap, vegetable oils,
pottery, rubber goods and cork products. Nearby Setúbal has been the major recipient of foreign investment
where a 400-hectare industrial park, to be known as Silicon Bay, is under construction.
Oporto (known locally as Porto) has a population of around 400 000 and is the major industrial city in the north,
the centre of the cotton textile industry and the port through which all the country’s exports of port wine pass. It
is also the hub of Portugal’s small-business sector. The Oporto area, including Vila Nova de Gaia, has a
population of 1.3 million. Other industries include metal goods, engineering, electronic components, ceramics,
textiles, garments and knitwear, shoes and jewellery. Many leading banks have their headquarters in the city.
Oporto is one of the European Capitals of Culture 2001 (web site: www.porto2001.pt).
Coimbra (population 72 000) on the banks of the River Mondego, has the oldest university in Portugal. The city
has fine Romanesque and baroque buildings and is also famous for the superb Roman mosaics which have been
excavated from nearby Conimbriga.
Matozinhos (27 000) is a centre for fishing and fish-preserving industries in the north. Faro (35 000) and Vila
Real de Santo Antonio (15 000), on the southern coast of the Algarve, are the fishing centres of the south.
Covilha (23 000), with nearby Tortozendo, is the centre of a declining woollen textile industry.
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Portugal Country Profile
Other centres of population include Braga (64 000), which has soap, knitwear and other industries, Aveiro
(29 000) - important centre for fishing, agriculture and mining, ceramics, engineering and textiles, Leiria
(11 000) (plastics and ceramics), Marinha Grande (21 000) (glass) and Evora (34 000), an historic market
town on the road to Seville.
The Azores have a population of around 243 200 and Madeira has a population of 258 600. The capital is
Funchal. The islands are heavily dependent on tourism although with EU help an International Business Centre
and a free-trade industrial zone have been developed.
Language
Portuguese, which is the official language, is somewhat similar to Spanish except in pronunciation. Thus anyone
with a knowledge of Spanish is likely to be able to read Portuguese with ease but will probably not understand
the spoken language without practice. This is mainly because the language is spoken so quickly and words slur
into one another. A few words and phrases in Portuguese are appreciated but not expected.
Many Portuguese understand Spanish but their national pride is easily offended by its use. It is preferable to start
a conversation in English or French rather than Spanish.
French and English are widely spoken in business circles, and English is also widely understood in the resorts of
the Algarve. For a lengthy stay in Portugal a working knowledge of the language is desirable, not least for the
inevitable dealings with Portuguese bureaucracy.
Refer to ‘Cross-cultural preparation and language tuition’, page 12.
Religion
The vast majority of Portuguese are Roman Catholics (over 95%) and the church is a powerful institution.
Traditional festivals, both religious and secular, play an important part in the social life of the nation.
In the main towns there are places of worship that hold services in English.
Social customs and modes of address
Social customs
The Portuguese are friendly and courteous and their way of life is leisurely; life moves slowly and there is little
sense of urgency in getting things done. They have formal manners and appreciate courtesies, such as leaving
cards after an introduction or returning thanks for hospitality. Please (se faz favor) and thank you
(obrigado/obrigada) should be used whenever possible. They themselves are not always punctual, although they
expect foreign visitors to be.
Portuguese society is still very much male-orientated. It is comparatively rare for married women of the middle
and upper classes to work outside the home, and few women gain positions of responsibility.
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Portugal Country Profile
The Portuguese have an ingrained suspicion of Spain and the Spanish and prefer their part of Europe to be
described as the Luso-Spanish Peninsular rather than the Iberian Peninsula.
Many Portuguese smoke, but smoking is banned in cinemas, theatres and on buses. In restaurants, it is customary
to smoke only at the end of the meal.
The custom of the siesta continues and some shops still close between 12.30 and 15.00 but offices normally take
only an hour or so for lunch. However, there are moves to integrate Portugal into more mainstream commercial
hours of operation.
Modes of address
Professional titles should be used: Doctor, Enginheiro etc. Otherwise, people should be addressed as senhor (Mr)
or senhora (Mrs).
The state
History
The early history of Portugal was that of the Iberian peninsula as a whole, most of the country being incorporated
with part of western Spain in the Roman province of Lusitania. The peninsula was over-run by the Visigoths,
followed by the Moors who were defeated in 1147 when Lisbon was retaken. Alfonso I was proclaimed King in
1139, though the Moors were not finally driven out of the country for another century.
The alliance between England and Portugal was confirmed in 1386 when King John I of Portugal married the
daughter of John of Gaunt, and heralded the most illustrious period of Portuguese history. Their son, Prince Henry
the Navigator, initiated many voyages of exploration; the Cape of Good Hope was rounded by Bartholomew Diaz
(1488), the route to India was discovered by Vasco de Gama (1498) and Brazil was acquired in 1500; Madeira, the
Azores and the Cape Verde Islands were colonised and the Portuguese Empire was founded. However, in 1580
Philip II of Spain seized the throne and Portuguese independence was not again recognised by Spain until 1640. The
country suffered severely in the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-14) and the Peninsular War (1810-12), and
later from civil war and dictatorships, and Brazil was lost.
1910: Portugal became a republic, following a revolution against the monarchy. 1910-32 there was a succession of
coup d’états which threw the country into constant turmoil. Political stability was established after Antonio de
Oliveira Salazar came to power. The 1933 Constitution provided for a one-party state; Dr Salazar ruled as virtual
dictator until ill health forced his resignation in 1968.
His successor, Marcello Caetano, attempted to modernise industry and initiate closer political/economic ties with the
developed world while trying to retain Portugal’s autocratic political system and colonial possessions. Costly wars in
Angola/Mozambique resulted in Portugal’s economy becoming virtually bankrupt. Within Portugal, these policies
culminated in the bloodless revolution of April 1974, carried out by radical officers (MFA) of the Portuguese army.
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Portugal Country Profile
African territories of Guinea-Bissau, Angola/Mozambique, together with East Timor in the East Indies, achieved
self-government after conflict with the former governing Portuguese forces. The former colony of Macau reverted to
Chinese rule in December 1999.
Portugal suffered considerable political instability, having 16 governments in 13 years to 1987.
Government
Sovereignty is divided between the President, the Assembly of the Republic and the Government. The President
is elected for a five-year term by popular vote and appoints the Prime Minister and with the Prime Minister’s
agreement, the Council of Ministers. The Council of State is primarily a consultative body. The Assembly has
230 members (to be reduced to between 180 and 200), elected by universal adult suffrage for a term of four years
(subject to dissolution). Mainland Portugal is divided into 18 administrative districts. The Azores and Madeira
have had a degree of autonomy since 1976. Main political parties include the Socialist Party (PS), Social
Democratic Party (PSD), Communist Party (PCP), Popular Party (PP) and the Left Bloc (BE).
Recent events
A presidential election took place in January 2001. The Socialist candidate, Jorge Sampaio, was re-elected for a
second and final term.
A general election was held in October 1999. The governing Socialists were returned to power for a second four-
year term, narrowly failing to achieve an overall majority in Parliament. Prime Minister António Guterres
announced his intention to govern without seeking pre-arranged alliances with either the left or right. Next
elections are due by the autumn of 2003.
International relations
Portugal is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the Western European Union
and became a full member of the European Community (now EU) in 1986. It saw membership of the latter as the
country’s salvation from economic depression and has become far more Europe-minded than at any time in its
previous history. Portugal was among the first states to join the Single European Currency in January 1999.
Relations with Spain have not always been good. Three of Portugal’s major rivers, the Tejo, Douro and
Guadiana, rise in Spain and the amount of water allowed to flow out of Spain is a sensitive issue, especially in the
wake of a drought which has affected much of the peninsula. Both countries are heavily reliant on irrigation for
agriculture.
Portugal has a special relationship with Brazil, but this is currently under severe strain over Portugal’s treatment
of illegal immigrants from Brazil.
Ties with former colonies in Africa (Angola and Mozambique) remain strong and Portugal has tried to help both
countries with aid and with peace negotiations. The Portuguese territory of Macau reverted to Chinese
administration in December 1999. Relations with Indonesia remain strained over the issue of East Timor.
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