Foreigners and Borders Service to be abolished in October

The abolition of the Service for Foreigners and Borders (SEF) will take place in October, the Minister of the Interior said this Thursday, assuring that there will be a transitional period for the implementation of this reform.

“When we get to October of this year, the SEF will be destroyed to the extent that its employees are integrated into other forces, that is, in October of this year there will be a process of disappearance of the SEF,” said José Luis Carneiro. journalists at a press conference held after the meeting of the Council of Ministers.

On Wednesday, the President of the Republic promulgated two decrees on the SEF merger process, namely the transitional regime for workers and the establishment of the Integration, Migration and Asylum Agency (AIMA), which will replace this service in administrative matters. procedure for foreign citizens.

The government official explained that as part of this process, part of the general and administrative service employees will be transferred to AIMA, and another part of the inspection and supervision service employees will be transferred to the judicial police.

According to José Luis Carneiro, there will also be SEF inspectors who will remain working at air, sea and land borders “in a temporary functional distribution mode until the change is secured in a secure environment.”

As part of the liquidation of the SEF, administrative functions will be transferred to AIMA and the Institute of Registration and Notaries (IRN), while police powers will be transferred to the Public Security Police, the National Republican Guard and the Judicial Police.

GNR will be responsible for monitoring, checking and controlling maritime and land borders, including cruise terminals.

The PSP will be responsible for monitoring, checking and controlling airport borders, while the PJ will be responsible for investigating illegal immigration and human trafficking.