According to a regulatory decree published this Wednesday, the portal of the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) will allow applications for residence permits for family reunification.
The regulation regulating the law on foreigners, published this Wednesday in the Diário da República, changes “the regulation of the legal regime of entry, stay, exit and expulsion of foreign citizens from the national territory.”
The diploma covers the new functions of AIMA, created on 29 October to replace the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) and the High Commissioner for Migration (ACM), as well as the GNR and PSP, which become the agencies responsible for border control.
“With this regulatory decree, administrative procedures are modernized and simplified in order to ensure that AIMA, IP, can instruct and resolve processes related to the stay of foreign nationals on national territory in a timely manner and in compliance with increased security requirements,” it said. diploma published this Wednesday.
In a statement sent to Lusa, AIMA explains that this change “represents a decisive step in improving services” for migrant citizens, as it allows “to modernize and simplify administrative procedures, allowing the instruction and resolution of processes related to the stay of citizens.” foreigners into national territory in a timely manner and with increased security requirements.”
Thanks to this new regulation, it will be possible to “make digital services available on the AIMA portal for sending, receiving and paying for residence permit applications, eliminating the need for planning and travel” to physical locations, “freeing employees from non-value-added tasks , such as the procedure for paying duties.”
Soon, AIMA promises, digital services will be available on the portal, “starting, as already announced, with requests for residence permits for family reunification.”
Family reunification processes have become a major source of complaints from legal immigrants in Portugal, who accuse the country of violating its own laws and international agreements by failing to process tens of thousands of pending requests.
In addition, the diploma allows digital applications for the grant and renewal of residence permits, and also allows these applications to be submitted by employers, research centers or educational institutions that include immigrants.
The diploma also authorizes AIMA to “conclude the necessary protocols to guarantee proof of legal situations through direct access to various databases of government institutions, guaranteeing greater speed and information security,” such as “proof of employment, residence in the country, registration and contribution status, confirmed by social security and tax authority, attending an educational institution, volunteering or internship.”
Access to a database to verify information will reduce bureaucracy in requests, and this process also includes the use of digital signature certificates such as a digital mobile key.