One of the founders of Lusconnectionuk in Manchester in 2022, Lisa de Pina, told Lusa news agency that she made sure to inform the consulate of its existence and that she submitted the requested documents several years ago.

"We are still waiting. It's a bit demotivating," she confided, on the sidelines of the 1st Congress of Portuguese Associations in the United Kingdom, which took place in Leicester.

The president of the newly formed Portuguese Association of Leicester, Jorge Conde, also revealed that, despite dialogue with the consulate, he describes the frustration as "obstacles for several months".

"I wish it were easier this way; we really want to be integrated with Portugal. The intention was never to access Portuguese funds. It's more about bureaucracy, to have more direct and faster access to information and, in the future, to be able to create Portuguese classes," he stressed.

Recognition

To be able to apply for financial support, Portuguese associations in the diaspora must be accredited by the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs and Portuguese Communities (DGACCP).

This recognition implies the presentation of the articles of incorporation and respective statutes, and registration with the authorities of the country where it is based.

The event organisers revealed that they had identified 49 active Portuguese associations in the United Kingdom, but only two are accredited: the Portuguese Community Center and the Popular Culture Group.

The president of the Council of Portuguese Communities in Europe, Vítor Gabriel Oliveira, praised "successive governments for increasing subsidies" for emigrant associations, but also acknowledged that the level of requirements has risen.

"It is important that associations increase their level of professionalism," he explained, urging associations to persist in the accreditation process with consulates.

Support

The 1st Congress of Portuguese Associations in the United Kingdom brought together dozens of association leaders on Saturday in an attempt to create a Luso-British associative network and strengthen cooperation between community and institutional entities.

Organized by the newspaper As Notícias, it included thematic panels on the legal, fiscal and institutional framework of associations, on training and capacity-building tools for leaders, on social action and community support, and on financial support and sustainability of associations.

Lisa de Pina, from Lusoconnectionuk, told Lusa that the event was important for meeting and creating connections with other Portuguese associations, as the association is already registered with the British authorities.

"The various cultural and sporting projects we've undertaken have been funded by the United Kingdom. We're here to try and understand how we can get help from Portugal," she revealed.

The president of the UK Recreational Association, created in 2017, Domingos Cabeças, acknowledged that "it's advantageous to participate and know the rules," but the association is not registered in either Portugal or the United Kingdom.

"We sent the statutes and regulations to the consulate, but we've never done anything else. We've never applied for funding because we don't have much time," he explained.

The activities, essentially recreational, such as Christmas or Saint Martin's Day celebrations, are financed with the revenue from those events.

"We don't handle large sums of money, so there's no interest in being registered," he said.