In recent years, Portugal has seen an incredible growth in immigration, especially from America, the UK, Brazil and China. Due to the high volume of new Residency applications, the nation became overwhelmed to deal with the increasing number of applications. Thinking about how to solve the long lines, the Portuguese Government and the Ordem dos Advogados (Portuguese Bar Association) signed a groundbreaking agreement with the Agência para an Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA) to address the backlog of 300,000 pending immigration requests. This significant collaboration aims to streamline and expedite the process of legalising the status of immigrants in Portugal.
Portuguese Lawyers and AIMA Set Partnership to End Long Lines
The legal expertise of Portuguese lawyers is set to play a crucial role in providing a comprehensive and timely response to those seeking regularisation. The collaboration, signed last 5th of March 2024 through a public tender, involves offering legal knowledge to AIMA for processing various aspects of immigration, including the extension and renewal of stay, residence permits, and authorisation for investment activities. In return for their highly qualified and technically advanced services, AIMA will compensate the lawyers, establishing a framework for a mutually beneficial partnership.
This initiative will allow lawyers, trainee lawyers, and solicitors to apply for a professional grant, enabling them to respond promptly to AIMA's requests. The partnership is crucial for cases involving individuals who initially arrived with tourist visas and later began working in Portugal. AIMA reinforces that solving illegal immigration and dealing with the long waiting list is a quick response. With the initiative, the Portuguese Government takes a huge step to prevent individuals from waiting for years, uncertain about their status, and potentially facing rejection after already establishing roots in the country.
Another comparable action occurred this year when the Supreme Court in Portugal acknowledged the timing for applying for Portuguese Citizenship, recognising the waiting period as an integral part of the process. On Sunday, the 25th of February 2024, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa sanctioned the amendments to the Nationality Law. This approval comes in the wake of the Constitutional Court's decision on February 20th, confirming that the amendments comply with the Portuguese Constitution. The President has indicated his intention to approve the law, and its official publication in the Gazette is imminent.
The Initiative Will Help to Combat Illegal Immigration and Social Vulnerability
The collaboration between Portuguese Lawyers and AIMA will not only address the legal aspects of immigration but also recognise the vulnerability of immigrants to international criminal organisations, scammers, and labour exploitation. By ensuring that services are provided by legitimate professionals associated with the Ordem dos Advogados, the agreement aims to reduce the risk of exploitation by unauthorised individuals. Signing this protocol embodies the Ordem dos Advogados' commitment to contributing to a more efficient and secure process for immigrants. The collaboration covers various aspects, including the instruction of processes for residence permits, renewals, voluntary or coercive removal, and training and knowledge exchange in migration-related areas.
The importance of this collaboration goes beyond legal proceedings; it is a step towards safeguarding the rights and well-being of immigrants in Portugal. AIMA intends to create a system that is not only faster and more transparent but also resistant to fraud. The partnership is expected to start in the following months and ensure that decisions are made in a timely and just manner.
September 2024 Update: More than 1200 Professionals Recruited
In September 2024, AIMA announced a formal partnership with the Portuguese Bar Association (Ordem dos Advogados) and the Order of Solicitors and Enforcement Agents (Ordem dos Solicitadores e Agentes de Execução).
With that, more than 1200 professionals have been recruited, including 845 lawyers and 400 solicitors, to be precise, to help the Agency moving forward pending processes. AIMA will pay each professional €7,50, in addition to a monthly fee ranging from €150 to €1400.
The professionals will play an exclusively administrative role, performing tasks including document analysis, scheduling hearings, and elaborating proposals for decisions.
On the matter at hand, the President of the Bar Association, Fernanda de Almeida Pinheiro, stated the following: “Highly qualified human resources with a high technical component will remove the need of the intensive training that other officials would have to undergo. These are not procedures of law, merely administrative procedures that take around 15 minutes per process. The Bar Association could not say that we are not available, because the Bar Association’s role is to defend justice and citizens. At a time like this, we could never stay away.”
In another joint statement, both the Bar Association and Order of Solicitors and Enforcement Agent said: “It is our honour and privilege that we are able to, in this way, contribute to the resolution of this serious problem, that affects thousands of people daily in our country, by defending the rights, freedoms and guarantees of citizens and companies.”
With dedicated professionals on the case, it looks like the backlog will shrink massively in the foreseeable future. This joint partnership only solidifies the commitment Portugal has made to all its residents.
December 2024 Update: AIMA went from 800 to 6,000 appointments per day
2024 is closing with some impressive results from the government’s efforts to deal with the big backlog of pending processes related to the evaluation and issuing of residency permits. As the year comes to an end, 24 Mission Structures of the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (EMAIMA) are currently functioning autonomously, although counting on AIMA’s support.
AIMA went from performing 800 to now dealing with around 6,000 daily appointments. The EMAIMA unit in Porto, for example, has 108 employees working in 2 shifts, and is currently responsible for carrying-out close to 1000 assistances daily.
The government has also announced that 150,000 of the former 400,000 pending processes at AIMA have already been assisted.
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