Angry immigrants at AIMA in Lisbon force PSP to intervene

On Tuesday, rapid response police were called to the Agency for the Integration of Migrants and Asylum (AIMA) in Lisbon to calm the situation among immigrants concentrated in the area.

The immigrants were outraged when they were told that there were only 300 tickets and therefore not all of them would be accepted today.

There has been a significant increase in the number of migrant citizens in AIMA stores in recent days after the agency demanded advance payment of planning costs to complete regularization processes.

This requirement causes resentment and doubt among the immigrants who flock to his facilities.

On Monday, AIMA said it would seek help from immigrant community leaders to clarify the new procedures, hoping to normalize the situation by the end of the week.

According to AIMA, “a new procedure for processing expressions of interest has been initiated with the aim of phasing out the telephone scheduling system and replacing it with digital systems by the end of the first quarter of next year.”

This “new procedure will also eliminate the need for in-person payments and make the service faster and easier, allowing more seats to be made available to citizens requesting this service,” AIMA says.

According to emails sent last week to immigrants expressing interest and awaiting appointments to complete their procedures or as part of family reunification, AIMA requires upfront payment of expenses.

For immigrant spouses with permanent status the cost is 33 euros, for citizens of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) the cost is 56.88 euros, and for others the total amount is 397.90 euros, payable within a few days.

After 10 business days, AIMA says it will “make other attempts to contact users who are still interested in the procedure and have not paid” the specified amount.

At the moment, “more than 50 thousand users have expressed their intention to make a payment.”