Helping immigrants in Portugal

Lisbon: Many of you will know Tig James from her relentless work throughout the last nine years for UK nationals since Brexit. Brits, living in the EU at the time, were lost, not knowing where to go or what to do. Groups quickly sprang up across the EU, including one amongst many, the British in Portugal.

On joining this small Facebook page, she was asked if she would be willing to join the team and so the journey began. She became co-President of the group, on a voluntary basis, with another member, Rory Stewart, as discussions took place across the EU and, with what became the umbrella group, British in Europe. Tig became the representative for the British in Europe in Portugal and the fight started for all UK nationals to have the rights they were promised from conception to delivery of the Withdrawal Agreement. Not only does she regularly submit updates to the EU Commission and Parliament on the situation in Portugal, her fight has also taken her to the Portuguese government, where she delivered a speech on the effects on both UK nationals in Portugal and Portuguese citizens in the UK. Alongside all this, continuous discussions have also taken place with the UK government too.

As these meetings occurred, constant feedback was given to UK nationals in Portugal as to the actions they needed to take, how to remain as legal as possible in the aftermath of Brexit. Finally, after a huge international press release whereby Tig highlighted the dire straits UK nationals had been left in from no health care, to being arrested, SEF/AIMA decided to act, giving UK nationals the residency documentation they sorely needed.

And now recognition has gone even further with King Charles III, in the 2024 New Year’s Honours list, awarding Tig with a well-deserved MBE, her investiture taking place at Buckingham Palace on the 10th June.

With all this newfound knowledge and experience, Tig is now onto a new venture, Tig James MBE & Partners (see contact details below). This is a business whereby those coming or already in Portugal, from anywhere in the world, can ask those questions none of us, as immigrants to Portugal, can seem to find the answers to, from finanças to citizenship to losing a driving licence.