The Council of Ministers approved, this Thursday, the creation of the Portuguese Agency for Minorities, Migrations and Asylum (APMMA), which will replace the Aliens and Borders Service (SEF) after its extinction, as well as the High Commission for Migrations.
"The Council of Ministers approved today the creation of the Portuguese Agency for Minorities, Migration and Asylum (APMMA) which succeeds the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) and the High Commission for Migrations in terms of reception and migration", announced the Minister of the Presidency, Mariana Vieira da Silva.
APMMA will receive 680 SEF employees and the renewal of residence permits is at the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN).
"This new agency will integrate the High Commission for Migration, aiming to respond to the various challenges of inclusion and integration of migrants in Portugal. The APMMA transition process will be completed in the next six months", said the Deputy Minister of Parliamentary Affairs , Ana Catarina Mendes.
The Council of Ministers meeting also approved the decree-law that will regulate the transitional regime for SEF workers.
According to Mariana Vieira da Silva, the regime seeks to safeguard the rights of workers from that extinct security service and safeguard "career transitions and salary repositioning.
During the press conference after the Council of Ministers, the Minister of Internal Administration considers that, with this diploma, the Government responds to the main concerns and demands of the security forces.
“We fulfilled what was one of the main objectives of this reform, that is, to guarantee our contribution to the area of freedom, security and justice, which is the Schengen area”, he says.
José Luís Carneiro says that this restructuring “guarantees safer national borders, because it will now have GNR personnel at sea and land borders, PSP personnel at national air borders and the contribution of the PJ with regard to the fight against crime associated with illegal immigration and human trafficking”.
According to José Luís Carneiro, the operationalization transition process that begins now takes six months, “which means that all aspects of ongoing police cooperation between the SEF, PSP, GNR and the PJ will remain valid in the throughout this transition until its conclusion”.
“After the six months, all these elements become operational according to the new legislative structure”, he added.
As explained by the minister, at the end of these six months there will still be a period of one year in which SEF employees will support the PSP and the GNR at the borders, “transferring knowledge to the security forces”. This period may be extended, but in the second year only 50% of the workforce remains. “At the end of this transition, everyone will join the PJ”, he clarified
Supplementary meetings are being held at this time with the Ministry of Internal Affairs for a possible agreement on the placement, functions and remuneration of inspectors after the extinction of the SEF.
The president of SINSEF, the union that represents non-police workers, says that the process has only just begun and that, more important than the legislation, is the way it will be put into practice.
The restructuring of the SEF was decided by the previous Government, the second led by António Costa, and approved by the Assembly of the Republic in November 2021, having since been postponed twice.
Inspectors currently number around 900 and non-police officers around 700.