It’s unfortunate, but the service that was bad managed to get worse. I had no idea to say this, but I miss the SEF, the defunct Foreign and Borders Service.
A few days ago, I was at the Cidadão de Laranjeiras Shop in Lisbon, and it was to scare the size of the line. About 200 people were waiting for the doors to open. Most were immigrants seeking information or scheduling to obtain a residence permit in Portugal.
It’s unfortunate, but the service that was bad managed to get worse. I had no idea to say this, but I miss the SEF, the defunct Foreign and Borders Service. AIMA, the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum, which replaced the old service, managed to make it even more difficult for those who try to settle, and worse, made life of those who are regular, but have expiration dates to meet.
On the site, there is no possibility of scheduling the service, and, in the IRN branches, the Institute of Registries and the Notary, cited as a possibility to schedule the renewal of the document, the information is that there is no possibility of scheduling. By email, AIMA informs that people will be contacted to renew the authorization, and that the priority will be for those who already have the expired document.
It is important to note that there are people with the title won since last year still waiting. "In the old days, with SEF, we could solve the issues administratively, now, I have to file lawsuits to obtain the renewals or the schedules," says Gabriela Resende, a lawyer who deals with issues involving citizenship and residence permits.
She adds that there are cases of people who entered with the expression of interest, paid the fees, sent the correct documentation and, even so, are with the requests rejected. “Portugal should have controlled the rampant entry of immigrants back there. It allowed thousands of people to enter without a visa or employment contract and there was no structure to legalize the situation of these people, "says Gabriela.
The Brazilian Janaína Gonçalo has lived in Portugal for about two and a half years, when she filed a request for expression of interest, but had the documentation rejected. Janaína managed to schedule at AIMA after being here a year and a half ago. He took the documents and, after four months, received an email stating that he lacked the registration in Social Security. She personally returned to the call center set up by AIMA, in Telheiras, and found that the first attendant had typed the wrong number. She forwarded the document again, received a new email of rejection requesting new documentation.
“They are more bureaucratic with whom it issues green receipts in providing the service, without a formal contract of employment, which is my case. It is revolting, because I am losing job opportunities because I do not have the residence”, says Janaína. At this time she is still waiting for a response to receive a residence permit. She got a job at an aesthetic clinic, but she's unable to leave the country. “It’s very difficult to keep me here this way,” complains the Brazilian.
Obviously it is necessary to control the entry of immigrants and organize their permanence legally, but unfortunately, the reality of the majority of foreigners who try to attend is uncertainty and misinformation. There is no telephone contact and the AIMA website does not provide solutions.
"We have to wait, they will contact you," is what the attendants inform at IRN stations. Wait for the documents to win, that the right to come and go is restricted, and that anxiety gets out of control.
- Log in to post comments