Portugal News

AIMA starts operations with 34 service counters throughout the country and will open at least 10 fewer new branches in the space of a year

Agency inherits about 347 thousand pending issues and launches digital portal by the end of the year for online applications for the granting and renewal of residence permits

The Agency will move forward with a strong investment in digital infrastructure and in terms of human resources, with the hiring of more than 190 employees

The Agency for Integration, Migrations and Asylum will succeed the SEF and the High Commission for Migrations, which is also abolished.

AIMA is responsible for administrative functions related to foreign citizens in Portugal, namely residence permits and refugees.

The High Commission for Migration will be responsible for the reception and integration of immigrants in Portugal.

AIMA will inherit from SEF around 300,000 pending immigrant legalization processes.

The President of the Republic has approved "the bill approving the organization of the Borders and Foreigners Coordination Unit". Responsibilities will be transferred to seven entities, leading to a new configuration of the Portuguese border control system.

The President of the Republic has approved, this Friday, the bill for the organization of the Borders and Foreigners Coordination Unit, created in the context of SEF's discontinuation and which will operate within the Internal Security System.

The number of people who will now depend on an AIMA decision was counted by the Government on October 20th. It is more than double the titles granted by SEF in the entire year 2022.

In a remarkable surge, the SEF contact center recently experienced an unprecedented volume of calls, surpassing 671 calls per second. This surge, occurring on October 17th, witnessed an astonishing 29 million call attempts in just 12 hours.

Many appointments are not kept and people are forced to reschedule. “It affects everything that involves issuing residence permits. Concessions, renewals. Everything that involves printing and issuing a document is congested, it is limited”, warns the union

The Government of Portugal reinforced today (8) the invitation to residents of the country, interested in improving their digital skills, to sign up for the  “Cheque Formação + Digital” program. The initiative offers annual financial assistance of up to €750 so that candidates can cover costs related to digital training, such as taking courses in the technology area. All immigran

On June 12th, trains with 6 and 4 carriages resumed service on the Green and Yellow lines, respectively.

This development is a result of efforts made to implement measures adopted as part of the action plan to alleviate the constraints caused by the temporary closure of Telheiras station and the Campo Grande/Cidade Universitária section.

Starting from June 12th (Monday), the following changes will be in effect:

Starting today, residents of Lisbon with a Navegante pass can avail themselves of free access to Gira bicycles throughout the city. This initiative, which was initially implemented for young individuals and seniors with the pass, has now been extended to all residents of Lisbon with a Navegante pass.

Previously, on May 26, the free pass was made available to all residents of Lisbon between the ages of 16 and 23, as well as citizens over the age of 65 who already possessed the Navegante pass.

The Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) is preparing a response to legalize around 170,000 immigrants from countries outside the European and Portuguese-speaking area with pending cases, said the Minister of Internal Administration today.