'Goa youth migrating to Portugal'

Youngsters are leaving the state and migrating abroad with the help of 'Portuguese passport' due to lack of jobs in Goa, MLA Francis Silveira told the state assembly on Monday.

He said that the youth especially from his St. Andre's constituency are leaving the coastal state.

"They say there are no jobs in Goa and are migrating by taking the Portuguese passport," Silveira told the Goa legislative assembly during a debate on labour and employment.

Portuguese immigration law allows residents of Goa, whose parents and grandparents were born in Portuguese-held Goa, to obtain the passport and migrate to the European country.

The Portuguese passport and nationality allows migrating Goans to get access to jobs in Europe, without the need of a work visa. Over the last ten years, more than 1,200 natives of St. Andre constituency have opted for the Portuguese passport and nationality.

--IANS

maya/anp/sed