en 
This position, issued in a statement by the office of the Minister of the Presidency, which oversees migration, follows a gathering this morning of around 100 people, mainly citizens of Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India, at the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA), in Lisbon, to complain about the delays in the granting of residence authorisation cards.
Minister António Leitão Amaro states, quoted in the same statement, said that “this evolution and assessment” carried out in the two weeks since this Government took office, “confirms previous diagnoses regarding the incorrectness of previous political and institutional options and their execution, particularly regarding the process of ending the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) and the implementation of AIMA”.
The Government adds that, given the dismemberment of SEF by the previous socialist executive, “hundreds of thousands of cases relating to migrant citizens are pending decision and there are serious difficulties in the functioning of the control, inspection, reception, and integration system”.
The minister also states that he is monitoring the situation, and is in contact with various authorities.
Today's gathering in front of the AIMA headquarters began at around 10:30 am and a representative of these citizens explained to journalists that the discontent has mainly to do with the waiting time, which in some cases exceeds nine months, to obtain the renewal of the residence permit.
According to the Government's program, the executive admits limiting access to residence permits to immigrants with work visas or those looking for work and introducing "quantitative objectives" in the reception of foreigners.
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“The minister also states that he is monitoring the situation, and is in contact with various authorities“
Oh please….. just monitor, don’t fix. If this was private business, there would be a few unemployed by now.
By A V from Algarve on 18 Apr 2024, 22:42
Nice the government acknowledges the AIMA/SEF debacle. Please report any government plan to correct this disaster and the concrete steps taken when or if they occur.
By Bradley from Algarve on 19 Apr 2024, 08:31
Extinguishing SEF was never the solution. The problem is the excessive workload due to unlimited expression of interests lodged by people who came somehow to Portugal and decided not to go back. The excessive and continuously increasing workload cannot be handled by any agency. The workload has to be reduced. Therefore, temporarily suspend SAPA (expression of interest). Don't allow anyone to overstay a short-term visa. Stop it for a few months. Your main problem is the unlimited number of expression of interests. Once this additional workload stops, AIMA can recover the pending cases. Meanwhile, you can beef up your infrastructure and staffing. You don't need so many people to keep coming all the time and lodge expression of interest. This is the main problem. Once the family reunion is done for all these immigrants, you will have too many immigrants. Wait and assess. In fact, the immigrants suffer the most because of this lax policy. The genuine people who come on D7, D8, golden visa, etc. after getting visa from their country are the ones who suffer because of the illegal immigrants or those who came here on Schengen and overstayed to apply for residence permit. The family reunion of the genuine people is also stalled. Please reassess. No need to blame any political party. This is genuinely a problem for all, the Portuguese and the immigrants.
By Gitesh Raja from Lisbon on 19 Apr 2024, 09:32
Please can we have an expected time frame of when we can expect cards to be issued as my docs was approved and submitted January 2024, my card expired February, due to this I can't seek new employment with my expired card and I'm unable to travel for family matters as I will mot be allowed back with an expired card, does Goverment or AIMA have mo empathy for people that is living here, making Portugal home and contributing to the economy by working and paying taxes, I want to live here and be able to travel and not be stuck unable to attend a funeral, or a wedding because my card renewal is taking longer than promised to be reissued, I am a person with rights and I paid for this, we were promised that AIMA will be better than SEF, in my opinion SEF worked and government btlroke a working system and mow impacting people across all boarders because not only am I being impacted my family as well. I wonder how they would act and feel if tge tables were turned, Portugal is big on talk but weak on acting!
By Nadine from Lisbon on 19 Apr 2024, 11:06
One issue might be that “civil servants” only work 35 hrs per week, (WORK may not be quite the right word), with so much time off. Possibly they should work the same hours as people in the private sector. Then they just might get through the workload.
By L from Other on 19 Apr 2024, 17:04
In addition to these protestors and the thousands who are here to work are many more thousands here to raise families, start businesses , invest and simply live. There are no appointments for residence permits, no appointments for renewals, hundreds of people traveling hours to attend appointments that are canceled due to slow or non-working computers, to there being insufficient employees to handle all the appointments set for the day, due to offices with employees who are not trained and can not process the applications. This issue is exponentially worsening by the week. There is no excuse.
By Susan from Lisbon on 19 Apr 2024, 17:47
My son received his Brexit residency card in March 2023 and promptly lost it on a school trip. It took me 8 months of phoning & emailing and I even wrote to the head of SEF in Coimbra. He just told me to phone the SEF number...ha ha! We finally got an appointment on the 20th October 2023 and the SEF said a replacement card would be in the post with a month! It is now the 20th of April (6 months later) and still nothing in the post. Again, I have made a lot of phone calls, written a lot of emails, visited the AIMA in Coimbra and even wrote to Luís Goes Pinheiro the new head of AIMA! Nothing! Nada! Everything is approved and they have his biometric details , it is a simple case of reissuing a card! Yes, it was stupid & careless he lost his card but really, 13 months and waiting to issue a replacement. His punishment for losing his card is not being to apply for work, he can' t apply for a driving licence or obtain dual nationality. We have lived here 20 years, my children were born here, we all speak Portuguese and we pay our taxes. By the way, the Financas website is excellent! I can always pay my taxes on time and get promptly fined if I'm a day late. All the SEF AIMA employees have been kind but the system sucks. I have never felt so disappointed, frustrated or stressed. I really feel for others who are worse off due to this "porcaria" of a situation!
By sam from UK on 20 Apr 2024, 14:19
Better portugal to stop issuing D visas. Only grant golden visas to boost the economy. Already whole world wants to move to portugal n it will be heavy to deal for the system including health care. At least give online visas learn from young dubai or emerging saudi on how to be digital and fast with little bureaucracy. Its a smart way to make money and make people happy.
By Riya from Alentejo on 21 Apr 2024, 16:35
Thanks for your post Sam.
I have done everything I can I do renew my residency after 4:5 years(so I’m just a baby) of living owning a house in very central PT and campers and surfing in this wonderful place.
I think perhaps I should take the words of the experienced.
Mothball the house
Bail
Come back when the people in power have learned how to run a functional Government.
Luc
By Luc from Other on 21 Apr 2024, 17:06
The only way to improve the immigration process and timescales, is to stop allowing expression of interest, close the SAPA portal, stop allowing people to obtain Portuguese citizenship for a baby born in Portugal , stop family reunification allowing 4 elderly parents, a wife, another few kids..
Prevent low quality immigration by ensuring those being granted residency are on at least 1.5 national wage.
There are YouTube videos out there, in Hindi on how to ‘lock SEF file’
There are immigration companies in India targeting people to travel to Spain and other schengen countries with a schengen visa, then enter Portugal by bus to ‘lock file’
This is illegal immigration, as the expression of interest is an immigration article intended to regularise the situation of someone who finds themselves in an irregular position.
To travel under the preference of tourism, with an express intention of claiming residency is doing so illegally.
As there is almost zero border control for these tourists entering from other schengen countries, they all get in.
Therein lies the problem with immigration, meaning all those people who do it legally, with a D visa, all suffer the delays of AIMA .
Close SAPA! And start inspecting flix busses entering the country - problem solved.
Portugal has made itself too attractive to low quality immigration by having such loopholes in their law to be exploited by thousands and thousands of people from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
By Ruby from Alentejo on 21 Apr 2024, 23:31
Portugal should only allow people from Europe to come to Portugal, People from outside Europe have different costumes and beliefs, and some might be criminals and terrorists, what good are they to Portugal?
By Tony from Other on 23 Apr 2024, 16:56
Hi Luc,
My post was negative about SEF AIMA but in my opinion Portugal is still a wonderful place to live. It is the first time in 20 years that we've had any real issues. Don't mothball the house! Shame that AIMA doesn't read these posts to see how frustrated we all are. I've found out that our local council has a "migrant support office". Perhaps your local council has one and could help? All the best Sam
By sam from Beiras on 25 Apr 2024, 10:37