A Goan hailing from Chinchinim who had been stranded in Portugal for two years after allegedly being duped by an agent dealing in Portuguese nationality in Goa finally got back his identity, after a court in Portugal recently ruled in his favour.
Ricky Gonsalves won the case in court on August 25 and was handed back his Cartão and passport from authorities.
Gonsalves and family members have acknowledged that a report in The Goan highlighting his plight, which went viral on social media in Portugal, may have promoted Portuguese authorities to expedite his case.
Gonsalves had gone to London on a dependent visa with his wife in 2013. After submitting all original documents, including his birth certificate from Chinchinim panchayat, to his agent in Goa to be processed in Portugal, he obtained his Portuguese nationality in London later that year.
Gonsalves went to Portugal to renew his Cartão and passport in 2018, when authorities in Lisbon informed him of some fault in his process.
Gonsalves was then informed that his agent in Goa had falsely processed his documents in Lisbon and that, the agent submitted to authorities in Lisbon a fake birth certificate from the Margao Municipal Council (MMC).
Authorities in Lisbon verified his birth certificate and found no such birth certificate of Gonsalves registered with the MMC. The case was then referred to the Portuguese Consulate in Panaji for further investigation.
Stranded in Portugal for two years and jobless, Gonsalves depended on support from his wife in UK and relatives in Goa.
“I sought justice in my case. I paid Rs 1.2 lakh but this Goan agent’s fraudulent activity left me in trouble and stranded in Portugal without my family,” Gonsalves had earlier told The Goan.
“I’m not the only victim of such rackets in Goa and I’m told about 90 Goans were cheated in a similar manner.”
“I request governments in Goa and Portugal to verify all agents processing Portuguese nationality in Goa and advise people to process their own paperwork to avoid such unscrupulous agents in Goa,” said Gonsalves.
While the court eventually ruled in his favour, Gonsalves said the last two years in Portugal had been the most difficult time of his life, without his wife, family, friends and no job.
“All this for no fault of mine. It was all because of identity theft which took two long years for Portuguese authorities to verify my identity.”
“All that is now over and I want to thank God, my lawyers, The Goan newspaper, my well-wishers and all those who worked hard for my cause. These two years were very difficult for my wife, Sharon, parents and family in London and Goa,” said Gonsalves, who plans to fly to London in a few days to re-unite with his wife.
