“Today, Portugal takes a decisive step in the digital transformation of public services with the launch of the Virtual Citizen Shop, integrated into the gov.pt portal. This new solution encompasses 150 essential public services and offers video call support, providing an innovative experience of contact with the State, closer to citizens and businesses”, states the note from the Agency for Technological State Reform (ARTE).
Among the 150 services now available, 23 are aimed at citizens and 127 at companies and businesses, including changes to the address on the Citizen Card, renewal of the driver’s license, online company creation, changes to the name, headquarters, or corporate purpose of a company, and requesting an ultimate beneficiary register, the document outlines.
According to the communiqué, these services are part of an initial set selected based on their relevance and frequency of use, to ensure that the most common needs of citizens and businesses are the first to be available on the new digital channel.
The new Virtual Citizen Shop “launches with an integrated service from 22 public entities in one place,” where individuals and business entities can resolve “their issues anytime and anywhere,” it states.
Among the new features of the store, ARTE highlights the video call support, allowing “human assistance in a digital environment, replicating the personalized experience of physical Citizen Shops.”
However, access to this service “is done by appointment, ensuring availability and proper assistance to each citizen or company,” it underscores.
The Deputy Minister and State Reform, Gonçalo Matias, as quoted in the note, emphasizes that this “is a new paradigm of public service, with a more agile State at the service of the citizen.”
Meanwhile, the State CTO and president of the Agency for Technological State Reform (ARTE), Manuel Dias, points out that “it is necessary to ensure that all essential public services are accessible digitally, anytime and anywhere.” He adds that the Virtual Citizen Shop “allows citizens and companies to save time and reduce bureaucracy.”
Moreover, “this platform, which will gradually evolve, brings public services closer to people, enabling an interaction with the State that is more convenient and aligned with their needs,” he notes.
The communication also highlights that the Virtual Citizen Shop, integrated into the gov.pt portal, “represents an important step in aligning with the 2030 goal,” which aims to make all public services available on the digital channel, “promoting a more accessible, integrated, and close State for all.”
ARTE assures that it “will continue to lead the strategy of digital transformation of the State, with new service models focused on innovation and efficiency, reinforcing the commitment to a modern public service oriented towards people.”
The Virtual Citizen Shop “is one of the results of this strategy and an essential contribution to consolidating the path of public service digitalization,” it concludes.
