An online survey has suggested that requirements for immigration attorneys in Portugal surged by 70% in June over May.
Following the news at the beginning of June that the residence permit procedures would no longer be based on expressions of interest, there has been a surge in demand. The modifications to the foreigners' law that eliminated the expression of interest—a tool that permitted a visitor visa holder to become a permanent resident of Portugal—are in question.
"According to the specialists in human rights law, it is Indian, Pakistani, Brazilian, Angolan, and also Chinese citizens who have most resorted to the services of immigration lawyers".
"Among the reasons for using these services are requests for permanent residence (19%), requests based on work (19%), replacement, extension or change of current visa or work authorization (9%), requests of Portuguese nationality (8%) and seeking representation for cases pending in court (6%)", according to the statement that was sent.
It is additionally said that, "although most of the requests received concern citizens with a visa or even a permanent residence permit, around 16% seek to regularise the current situation of lack of documentation to stay in Portugal and 11% already have the expired visa" .
"The new Decree-Law 37-A/2024, which amended Law 23/2007, has created serious concerns in the immigrant community that is already in Portugal because the Government has not yet clarified how they can thus obtain a residence permit," according to human rights lawyer.
"The act of expressing interest was starting to legitimise human trafficking. "A number of businesses were opening up shop in Portugal, offering immigrants promises of legalisation, but in reality, they were just expressing their interest and letting them us without any type of assistance."
What legal modifications apply to immigrants?
The new immigration laws in Portugal, which are a component of the Migration Action Plan, went into effect on June 4.
In addition to controlling immigration, the proposed plan seeks to enhance the integration of newcomers to Portugal.
The key points are as follows:
• Termination of interest expressions
Articles 88 and 89 of the legislative framework governing the entry, stay, departure, and removal of foreign nationals from national territory—better known as the Foreigners Law—were repealed in part by Decree-Law No. 37-A/2024, which was signed on June 3.
Previously, an immigrant on a tourist visa might initiate the regularisation process by expressing interest in the services. Having secured a job contract and accruing discounts for a full year, I ultimately fulfilled the prerequisites for acquiring a residence permit.
A foreign national on a tourist visa will no longer be able to get permanent residency in Portugal without a job contract or another resolution that was previously handled through the Portuguese consular network.
In the upcoming months, there will be a "revision of the [general] law in parliament" in response to the repeal of the clauses that permitted international visitors to Portugal. But as long as they "have been instructed correctly" or "have more than one year of social security discounts," all previously submitted requests will be fulfilled.
• Fortifying the diplomatic alliance
As part of the plan, consular posts that have been designated as priorities will have their response and processing capacities strengthened. Forty-five elements across fifteen countries—all members of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP)—will be strengthened. A "strengthening of the response and processing capacity of consular posts identified as priority, considering, in particular, seasonal migratory flows, the strategic objectives of attracting workers and the adequate implementation of the CPLP Mobility Agreement" . These new hires at the General Directorate of Consular Affairs and Portuguese Communities will be skilled visa analysts.
• The CPLP visa's conversion to a Schengen visa
The present mobility visa for CPLP immigrants is expected to gradually change into a community visa (Shengen), allowing travel within the European Union, according to the plan.It is stated in the mobility agreement that Portugal "must not only maintain, but also commit to implementing the necessary improvements" in order to grant "access to the Shchegen Space for holders of CPLP residence permits."
As a result, the CPLP visas, which expire at the end of this month, will be administratively extended by one year by the government. Additionally, Portuguese-speaking citizens will now have access to an online portal through the Agency for Migration and Asylum Integration (AIMA) to assist them with their application process.
The fact that CPLP visas are only valid within the country's borders, which causes issues with monitoring with other Schengen area nations, is one of the objections levelled against them and one of the reasons a case against Portugal was brought before European courts.
• Organisation of the Mission
In order to address outstanding concerns, the plan calls for the establishment of a "mission structure, with additional human, material, and financial resources," which will be in charge of "expedited assessment of requests" and a reinforcement of in-person assistance.A significant amount of the 400,000 pending immigration cases involve inhabitants of the CPLP. The strategy also calls for the recovery of delays in the introduction of new border control technologies, or "smart borders," as well as "urgent intervention in existing border control infrastructures, IT systems, and databases."
A "national plan for the implementation of the European Union's Pact for Migration and Asylum" with "special attention to the protection of minors in vulnerable situations" is another commitment made by the executive in the document.
• Drawing in foreign employees
The executive will also engage with the IEFP's network of Professional Insertion Offices to conduct a “survey of labour needs for recruiting foreign workers” in an effort to gather resources. Although it makes no mention of quotas, the plan suggests a "human capital attraction system" that involves working with "business confederations and associations" to recruit the necessary personnel into the Portuguese economy.
In addition, the strategy calls for "streamlining and prioritising immigrant entry channels" for trained professionals, young people in school, and family reunion, including professional training programmes.
The plan calls for "the creation of dedicated channels (green lane type) at the Consular Posts, with a view to achieving greater speed in the processing and issuance of visas" .
• Support for asylum seekers and emergency centres
The government intends to establish "municipal/intermunicipal emergency reception centres for immigrants" in other places in the plan; Lisbon will serve as the location of the first one. The Lisbon Council and the Government are concerned about the large number of immigrants who are homeless in the capital. As part of their integration proposals, they envision "measures that provide incentives to employers" along with "commitments regarding the dignified integration of immigrants," which include housing and professional training.
The plan also calls for the construction of new spaces, the expansion of "cooperation agreements with non-governmental and social organisations to increase vacancies for asylum seekers and refugees," and an increase in the "capacity of the infrastructure necessary for the temporary installation of foreign citizens in spaces equivalent to temporary installation centres."
Following arrival, the government commits to "establishing expedited procedures" for judicial appeals of administrative decisions pertaining to immigration and asylum, family, child, and young migrant processes, as well as "evaluating the consistency of foreign nationals' entry and residence in Portuguese territory."
• The PSP Foreigners and Borders Unit keeps an eye on newcomers
In order to keep an eye on the immigration situation, the government plans to establish the Foreigners and Borders Unit (UEF) in the PSP, "assigning it the powers of border control, return (currently at AIMA), and inspection in the national territory."
On October 29, 2023, the Foreigners and Borders Service was abolished. As a result, PSP established the port air security and border control unit, which is in charge of managing airport security and regulating air travel into and out of the nation.
The support and coordination of the Judiciary Police and respective inspectors who transferred from SEF, as well as the strengthening of coordination with the coordination powers of the Borders and Foreigners Coordination Unit (UCFE) of the Internal Security System, are implied by this transformation, which "does not involve the transfer of [other] administrative regularisation powers from AIMA to the PSP."
Following the SEF's dissolution, the former communist government established AIMA, combining the operations of both the SEF and the High Commission for Migration (ACM). The PSD had objected to this decision at the time.
The plan also calls for the creation of "a multi-force inspection team to combat abuses related to illegal stay, human trafficking, assistance to illegal immigration, labour exploitation, and violation of human rights within the national territory." An audit of the linguistic training and assessment procedures carried out for the purpose of obtaining Portuguese nationality is another of the measures included in the plan.
• AIMA Reorganisation
The aforementioned document outlines the upcoming changes to AIMA, including the removal of its authority to instruct and make decisions regarding return processes, the establishment of the Observatory for Migrations, the clarification of powers to attract qualified immigrants (human capital), and the redefining of service spaces' locations.
Currently handled by the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN), AIMA will now be in charge of handling requests for residence permit renewals in person. The Institute will focus on "the processing and decision-making of all requests for documentation from foreign citizens."
Meanwhile, the government designates the Migration Observatory as a State body to support public policy, "in conjunction with the Council for Migration and Asylum," which will become autonomous, and pledges to "strengthen the operational capacity of AIMA, particularly human and technological resources," with the goal of creating "an incentive for productivity and performance" of employees.
• Increasing backing for integration
Additionally, the plan calls for more "decentralisation of the response to integration and regularisation" of processes through the "opening of new Local Support Centres for the Integration of Migrants in close cooperation with the local authorities and civil society entities" and increased support for immigrant associations and non-governmental organisations.
The presentation also covers "integration projects in very critical neighbourhoods or urban areas, in which there is a lack of investment in intersectoral strategies between the public, social and private sectors, aimed at the integration of immigrant communities", categorised as "coordination and municipal management" .
The plan also calls for expanding access to the National Health Service, streamlining the process of granting equivalencies for the quick integration of immigrant students in basic education, and strengthening the "offer, coverage, and frequency of teaching Portuguese as a Non-Maternal Language."
An "instrument for channelling private capital for social investment in immigrant integration projects" will be developed in order to aid in this endeavour.
Are there a lot of pending immigration cases in Portugal?
On June 25, the president of the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) declared that 410,000 cases pertaining to immigrants are still outstanding in Portugal.
In a hearing called by the Bloco de Esquerda e Livre, Luís Goes Pinheiro, speaking at the parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, revealed that 342 thousand issues remain unresolved under the heading of "expressions of interest and administrative processes for residence authorization," totaling "70 thousand processes that are in progress."
As more procedures are closed, this number should decline because immigrants may have chosen to relocate abroad or obtained alternative forms of legalisation, such as family reunion and the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) mobility visa. Goes Pinheiro clarified, "The context of pending [a process] is waiting for an action" from AIMA.
A portion of these procedures make use of the expression of interest, a legally recognised tool that is no longer in existence but which permitted procedures for visitors on tourist visas to become more routine. AIMA requested early appointment settlement for regularisation procedures pertaining to this resource through 223 thousand emails in May, and 110 thousand of those requests were fulfilled.
If no further action is taken, the remaining parties may be deemed closed by the services since they are not compensated.
He emphasised that "demand varied in a very unstable way" with regard to the demands made by immigrants in Portugal, and that it is imperative to guarantee technology resources that "allow the response to be scaled."
The individual in charge determined that the exponential rise in regularisation requests following the end of the pandemic "made the SEF [Foreigners and Borders Service] absolutely incapable of responding."
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