The Service for Foreigners and Border Guards (SEF) is preparing a response to the legalization of about 170,000 immigrants from countries outside the European and Portuguese-speaking area, whose cases are under consideration, the interior minister said on Thursday.
After the SEF created a portal in March to automatically grant residence permits to thousands of Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) citizens with pending cases, a solution is currently being prepared for the remaining immigrants, namely immigrants from India, Nepal and Bangladesh. who submitted an expression of interest (an application filed with the FSS for a residence permit).
“The GEF is preparing a comprehensive response, namely with the Administrative Modernization Agency and with other government institutions, namely the Institute of Registration and Notary Services (IRN), to try to respond to approximately 170,000 expressions of interest from nationals of third countries outside the European Union, and other non-CPSG countries,” José Luis Carneiro told reporters at a press conference following the Ministerial Council meeting.
According to the minister, the goal is that by the end of October, when the process of eliminating the SEF is completed, these citizens, who have applied for interest in the SEF since 2020, will settle their situation in the country.
José Luis Carneiro emphasized that in 2020 and 2021, during the covid-19 pandemic, these expressions of interest accumulated because the collection of biometric data for obtaining a residence permit involves a trip to the SEF, which was not possible due to quarantine.
As part of the SEF merger process, the Integration, Migration and Asylum Agency (AIMA) will be created to replace this service in the administration of foreign nationals.
In a balance sheet submitted to the Lusa agency, the SEF said that the portal has made it possible to issue residence permits to CPLP citizens who have received more than 113,000 such titles, with Brazilians accounting for almost 83% of new legal immigrants in Portugal.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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