The Minister of Modernization of the State and Public Administration, Alexandra Leitão, explained to Lusa that the measure will make it possible to recover some of the time lost when the Lojas do Cidadão closed due to the pandemic.

Over the next eight Saturdays, some Citizen's Shops will be open with extended hours, between 9:00am until 10:00 pm, in the “Open House” programme for the delivery and renewal of the citizen's card or passport.

The programme will be available in four stores in the Lisbon area - Laranjeiras, Saldanha, Marvila and Odivelas -, two in the Porto area – Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, and in Coimbra, Braga and Faro, in addition to customer service counters of the Registry and Notary Institute (IRN), at the Justice Campus in Lisbon.

On the eve of the opening of this modality, minister Alexandra Leitão also left an appeal to the citizens: “I asked people not to all come at the first hour of the first day because there are not only many hours of the day, but also many Saturdays”.

Citizens who use the “Open House” in the coming Saturdays to renew their citizen card or passport will have a system of digital passwords available, obtained through the 'Map of Citizens' website (at mapa.eportugal.gov.pt). For the collection of documents, the distribution of passwords is in person.

In a statement, the Ministry of State Modernization and Public Administration adds that the Agency for Administrative Modernization will have support teams in its stores to assist citizens whenever necessary.

The stores in Lisbon and Porto will provide real-time information on waiting times for the nearest services, with the aim of allowing a more balanced dispersion of demand.