1 - O presente Acordo entrará em vigor 30 dias após a data da última notificação por escrito e por via diplomática em que uma das Partes informa a outra do cumprimento das formalidades exigidas pela ordem jurídico-constitucional interna.
2 - Quaisquer alterações ao presente Acordo deverão ser introduzidas por mútuo consentimento entre as Partes e pela forma seguida no presente Acordo, incluindo as condições de entrada em vigor.
3 - Cada uma das Partes poderá suspender a aplicação do presente Acordo, no todo ou em parte, por razões de segurança nacional, ordem e saúde públicas ou relações internacionais, devendo tal suspensão ser comunicada de imediato à outra Parte por via diplomática.
4 - O presente Acordo é concluído por tempo indeterminado, permanecendo em vigor até 90 dias após a data na qual uma das Partes tenha notificado a outra, por escrito e por via diplomática, da sua intenção de proceder à denúncia deste Acordo.
Feito em Lisboa, em 26 de Setembro de 2002, em duas cópias, nas línguas romena, portuguesa e inglesa, sendo os textos igualmente autênticos. Em caso de divergências de interpretação, prevalecerá o texto em língua inglesa.
Pelo Governo da República Portuguesa:
(ver assinatura no documento original)
Pelo Governo da Roménia:
(ver assinatura no documento original)
(ver texto em língua romena no documento original)
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC AND THE GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA ON READMISSION OF PERSONS FOUND IN ILLEGAL SITUATIONS.
The Government of the Portuguese Republic and the Government of Romania hereinafter referred to as the Parties:
Having regard to further developing the cooperation between their States, with a view to guarantee an adequate implementation of the provisions of the international agreements on the freedom of movement of persons, in full compliance with the human rights and with the guarantees as provided for by the applicable legislation;
Striving to prevent illegal migration and desirous to facilitate readmission of persons found in illegal situations on the territories of their States;
In accordance with the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 4 November 1950 and the Convention concerning the Status of Refugees, Geneva, 28 July 1951, as amended by the Protocol on the Status of Refugees, New York, 31 January 1967;
Based on the principle of reciprocity;
have agreed as follows:
CHAPTER I
Readmission of citizens of the States of the Parties
Article 1
1 - Either of the Parties shall readmit on the territory of its State, upon request by the other Party and without any formalities other than provided for in the present Agreement, any person who does not meet or no longer meets the legal requirements in force for entry or stay on the territory of the State of the requesting Party, if there is sufficient proof or if it may be validly assumed that such person has the citizenship of the State of the requested Party.
2 - The requesting Party shall readmit that person under the same conditions if subsequent investigations result in ascertaining that at time of his/her leaving the territory of the State of the requesting Party that person was not a citizen of the State of the requested Party.
3 - The provisions of the present article shall also apply in the case of the persons referred to in paragraph 1, invoking the existence of an application to renounce citizenship pending examination and final approval of such application by the competent authority of the requested Party.
4 - The provisions of this article shall not apply in cases where an application by a person to renounce his/her citizenship has been approved by the competent authority of the requested Party on the basis of guarantees issued by the competent authority of the requesting Party with respect to granting the citizenship of its State to such person.
Article 2
1 - The citizenship of the person subject to a readmission procedure shall be deemed proven, for the purposes of the present Agreement, upon submission of one of the following valid documents that can be clearly ascribed to their holders:
a) Romanian citizens: national identity bulletin or identity card or any type of national passport;
b) Portuguese citizens: national identity card or national passport.
2 - For the purposes of the present Agreement «an evidence of citizenship» shall result pursuant to submission of one of the following documents:
a) Any of the documents referred to in paragraph 1, even if expired;
b) Other travel documents substituting the national passport;
c) Any other document deemed to be relevant and admissible by the competent authorities of the Parties in ascertaining the citizenship of a person subject to a readmission request.
Article 3
l - When the requesting Party invokes in its request for the readmission of a person under article 1, the existence of evidence or indication of citizenship, according to paragraph 2 of article 2, the competent consular authority of the requested Party shall immediately issue the travel document required for the readmission of such person on the territory of its State.
2 - If is not possible to prove, conclusively, the citizenship of the person subject to the readmission request, the competent consular authority of the requested Party shall then proceed, upon request by the requesting Party, to interviewing that person within three days from the date of receipt of such request. The interview must take place where that person is being kept in custody or at the premises of the consular authority and in doing so, it shall take in acto, a written statement of the person subject to the readmission request.
3 - The competent authority of the requesting Party shall, upon agreement with the competent consular authority of the requested Party, organize without delay the activities referred to in paragraph 2.
4 - When pursuant to the act of statement, referred in paragraph 2, it is possible to ascertain that the person subject to the readmission request has the citizenship of the State of the requested Party, the respective consular authority shall apply the provisions of paragraph 1. Failing this and based upon solid grounds it is admissible to extend the timeframe referred to in paragraph 2, so as to allow the competent consular authority to carry out additional checking involving the competent authorities in its Country.
CHAPTER II
Readmission of third States' citizens
Article 4
1 - Either of the Parties shall readmit on the territory of its State, upon request by the other Party and without any formalities other than provided for in the present Agreement, any person, citizen of a third State, which has transited or stayed on the territory of its State and does not meet the legal requirements in force for entry or stay on the territory of the State of the requesting Party, and which has entered the territory of the State of the requesting Party directly from the territory of the State of the requested Party.
2 - Either of the Parties shall readmit on the territory of its State, upon request by the other Party and without any formalities other than provided for in the present Agreement, any other person who does not meet the legal requirements for entry or stay on the territory of the State of the requesting Party, if such person holds a valid visa, a residence permit, a stay permit or foreign citizen passport, issued by the competent authorities of the requested Party. When the competent authorities of both Parties have issued a visa allowing the entry or stay on the territory of their States, a residence permit or a stay permit the obligation of readmitting that person shall be incumbent on the Party whose visa, residence permit or a stay permit has expired the latest.
Article 5
The obligation to readmit a person shall not exist in the case of:
1) Citizens of third States having a common borderline with the territory of the State of the requesting Party;
2) Citizens of third States to whom, after their leaving the territory of the State of the requested Party, the competent authorities of the requesting Party have issued a valid visa or residence permit or who have been authorized to stay on the territory of State of the requesting Party;
3) Citizens of third States who have been staying illegally for more than one hundred and eighty days on the territory of the State of the requesting Party;
4) Persons to whom the requesting Party has granted the refugee status according to the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951, concerning the status of refugee, as amended by the New York Protocol of 31 January 1967.
Article 6
The requesting Party shall readmit on the territory of its State the persons for whom the investigations, carried out subsequent to the readmission procedure they have been subject to by the requested Party, result in proving that at the time of their leaving the territory of the State of the requesting Party, they either did not meet the requirements provided for in article 4 or they did meet the criteria as set in article 5.
CHAPTER III
Transit for the purpose of removal
Article 7
1 - Upon request by one of the Parties, the other Party shall authorize without any formalities, other than provided for in the present Agreement, transit by plane of the territory of its State by persons who are third States' citizens subject to a removal procedure initiated by the requesting Party.
2 - The requesting Party shall assume full responsibility for the ongoing travel abroad of such person up to the State of its destination and shall take charge of that person should, irrespective of the reason, it will not be possible to achieve successful implementation of the removal procedure.
3 - The requesting Party shall guarantee the requested Party that the third State citizen subject to authorized transit holds a travel document and a transportation title valid for the country of its destination.
4 - When needed the requesting Party shall provide an escort which cannot leave the airport international area.
5 - All expenditure incurred by the transit operation shall be borne by the requesting Party.
Article 8
The requested Party reserves the right to deny a request of transit for the purpose of removal if:
1) There are doubtless indications that the third State citizen of subject to such procedure may be in danger, in the State of his/her destination or subsequent transit, to discriminatory treatment on the ground of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership to specific social or political group or may be subject to death penalty, torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment;
2) The third State citizen had already been convicted by a criminal court of the State of destination for acts perpetrated prior to the transit operation;
3) The third State citizen represents a threat to the public order, national security, public health or to the relations of either Party with other States;
4) The guarantees provided by the requesting Party concerning the materialization of the removal procedure are deemed unsatisfactory.
CHAPTER IV
General provisions
Article 9
1 - The readmission request must be submitted to the authorities, as designated by the Parties, competent to implement the present Agreement, accompanied by reasoned documentation and it shall include:
a) Name and address of the competent authority of the requesting Party and the file registration number;
b) Data concerning the person subject to readmission (name and, as the case may be, any previous names, first names, pseudonyms, nicknames and aliases, names and first names of the parents, date and place of birth, gender, nationality, present and any previous citizenship, last profession, last known address on the territory of the State of the requested Party and other information that may lead to his/her identification);
c) Description or, as the case may be, facsimiles of the documents that prove or represent evidences of the citizenship of the person subject to the readmission request, as well as indication of the facts constituting a violation of the applicable legislation with respect to the requirements concerning the entry and stay of a person on the territory of the State of the requesting Party, including the date of the first official record on the illegal situation resulting in issuing the readmission request;
d) Two photographs (passport format) of the person subject to the readmission request.
2 - The request for transit for the purpose of removal shall be transmitted to the competent authorities designated by the Parties and shall include relevant information concerning the identity and citizenship of the person of the third State, the date of the travel, the time and place of arrival in the State of transit, as well as the time and place of departure from this State towards the State of destination, the firm confirmation of acceptance of entry for this person on the territory of the State of destination and, as the case may be, other useful elements concerning the personnel escorting him/her.
3 - Transmission of data and information referred to in the previous paragraphs shall be performed with due observance of the applicable legislation in the State of the Party delivering them.
4 - Personal data will be communicated to the authorities competent only to implement this Agreement, which are compelled to protect them efficiently according to the legislation in force in their State.
5 - Either Party commits itself to:
a) Use any information received under this Agreement solely for the purpose it has been delivered for;
b) Keep confidential the information sent to the requested Party. The communication to a third Party must only be done with the approval of the requesting Party;
c) Protect such information against any accidental loss, unauthorized access or alteration;
d) Destroy such information in accordance with the conditions as set by the requesting Party and, if there are no such conditions, as soon as the information is no longer needed.
Article 10
1 - A reply to the requests submitted under the present Agreement shall be given immediately in writing within at the most 15 days from the date of receipt of such request.
2 - Inadmissibility by the requested Party of one of the requests foreseen at paragraph 1 shall always be reasoned.
3 - Any request for additional information, as well as the reply to such request, shall be made within the same timeframe.
4 - The requesting Party shall proceed with carrying out the readmission operation within one month at the most from the date of receipt of the consent of the requested Party. This timeframe may be extended by mutual agreement for cases with well founded reasons.
Article 11
In cases when the readmission request is accepted, the requesting Party shall communicate as soon as possible:
1) The plan of the readmission operation (means of transportation, date and time of departure and arrival, passage through border checkpoints for international passenger traffic, etc.);
2) Indications on the need for police escort and/or for specialized medical care, with all necessary details.
Article 12
1 - When any of the requests provided for in the present Agreement has been accepted, the requesting Party shall assume and cover all expenditure incurred by the operation of readmitting a person subject to such request, including the costs concerning the escort and/or the medical staff, as well as the costs of a possible return travel.
2 - In accordance with the provisions of its national legislation, the requesting Party shall allow the person, who will be removed, to transport his/her legally acquired goods, on his/her own expenses.
CHAPTER V
Final provisions
Article 13
1 - The present Agreement shall be implemented by direct cooperation between the competent authorities designated by each of the Parties.
2 - These authorities shall proceed to mutual consultations whenever this will be necessary for the proper implementation of the present Agreement. A request to convene such consultations shall be made through diplomatic channels.
Article 14
Within 30 days from the date this Agreement shall enter into force, the Parties shall mutually communicate each other, through diplomatic channels:
a) The central or local authorities competent to file or receive a readmission request or a request for transit for the purpose of removal, indicating the necessary details as required for an effective communication with the same;
b) The airports that may be used for readmission operations or for transiting by the third States' citizens;
c) Any other elements that may be necessary to achieve the purposes of the present Agreement.
Article 15
1 - The provisions of this Agreement shall not affect the readmission obligations concerning third States' citizens, assumed by the Parties under other international Agreements.
2 - The provisions of the present Agreement shall not affect the implementation of the Convention concerning the Status of Refugees, Geneva, 28 July 1951, as amended by the Protocol on the Status of Refugees, New York, 31 January 1967.
3 - The provisions of the present Agreement shall not affect the implementation of the Agreements in the field of protection of human rights by which the Parties are bound.
4 - The present Agreement is not applicable to persons subject to procedures pertaining to the international conventions on extradition matters, judiciary assistance in criminal matters and transfer of the convicted persons, to which the Parties are signatory.
Article 16
1 - The present Agreement shall enter into force 30 days after the date of receipt of the last written notification mutually exchanged by the Parties through diplomatic channels, informing each other on the completion of the domestic legal procedure required for its entry into force.
2 - Any amendments to the present Agreement shall become effective after being agreed upon by the Parties and with due observance of the procedure stated in this Agreement, thereon in paragraph 1 of this article.
3 - Either Party may decide to suspend the implementation of the present Agreement, wholly or partially, on the ground of national security, public order, public health or to the international relations of its State and any such decision shall be immediately notified, through diplomatic channels, to the other Party.
4 - The present Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period of time and shall remain in force 90 days from the date when one of the Parties has notified the other Party in writing, through diplomatic channels, on its intention to proceed with denouncing this Agreement.
Done at Lisbon, on 26 day of Setember 2002, in two original copies, each one in the portuguese, romanian and english languages, all texts being equally authentic. In case of difference in interpretation, the English text shall prevail.
For the Government of the Portuguese Republic:
(ver assinatura no documento original)
For the Government of Romania:
(ver assinatura no documento original)