Portuguese Action Plan for Migration

An article written by Diogo Capela IMCM, Partner at Lamares, Capela & Associados.

On June 3, the Portuguese Council of Ministers approved the Action Plan for Migration, which aims to correct the serious problems in the rules for entry into Portugal, resolve the operational incapacity of AIMA – the Agency for the Integration of Migration and Asylum – and ensure that border control systems are operational.

The Migration Action Plan was announced two months after the new Government took office and is based on the principle that Portugal needs and wants to welcome more immigrants – for demographic, social and economic reasons. Immigration that must be regulated and monitored, accompanied by humane integration.

The Plan is divided into four main areas of action: regulated immigration; attracting foreign talent; human integration; and institutional reorganization.

Of the 41 measures presented, the following stand out in our opinion:

– Eliminate the Expressions of Interest procedure

– Strengthen response and processing capacity at consular posts

– Prioritize entry channels for family reunification, qualified professionals and young students

– Create a Mission Structure to resolve the 400,000+ pending cases 

– Reinforce AIMA’s human and technological resources, creating an incentive for productivity and performance

In addition to these measures, very recently, the Supreme Administrative Court affirmed AIMA’s obligation to decide immigration cases within 90 days. This obligation already came from the law, but AIMA has not been complying with it, and there is a very significant delay in issuing residence permits.

We believe that this decision will be a very significant turning point in the way AIMA acts and that it will have a major impact on the resolution of pending cases.

We also believe that the creation of a specialized Court for immigration and asylum matters will contribute to this. The creation of a specialized Court will allow legal cases to be resolved more quickly and efficiently.

With all these changes, it will be possible to resolve legalization processes in Portugal within the legally established timeframe (3 months).

Finally, it should be noted that in January of this year, as we mentioned in this article, the Portuguese Parliament approved a significant set of amendments to the Nationality Law, redefining the way in which the five-year period required to apply for Portuguese citizenship is counted, making the process of obtaining nationality through length of residence in Portugal fairer and more predictable.

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