Pending asylum applications have doubled to nearly 8,800, according to Público this Saturday, March 28. The newspaper reports that delays in the transition from SEF to AIMA explain the backlog over the last two years, with Portugal refusing over a thousand asylum requests last year. Jornal de Notícias reports that the courts have summoned 2,000 witnesses in a fraud case involving medical certificates. Eighteen defendants, including driving schools, mediators, and doctors, are facing trial for revalidating driving licences with certificates issued without the doctors ever seeing the applicants. Correio da Manhã highlights that Swiss authorities suspect former banker Ricardo Salgado created a Ponzi-style scheme to finance GES, allegedly causing creditors losses of several billion euros.
Press review: Pending asylum applications and 2,000 witnesses in fraud case
Context & Explainers
Temporary residence is a limited residence permit that allows non‑EU nationals to live in Portugal for a set period (commonly one year, renewable) for study, work or other reasons. The Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA) launching an online form means eligible students who also work can apply or regularise their status more easily through AIMA’s process rather than only via consular services.
The AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo—Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum) is Portugal's immigration authority responsible for managing residence permits, visa processing, asylum, and immigrant integration.
History: AIMA replaced the dissolved SEF (Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras) on October 29, 2023, following a 2021 Assembly decision. SEF's dissolution was motivated by reform needs, administrative inefficiencies, and a 2020 scandal involving a Ukrainian national's death in custody. SEF's responsibilities were redistributed: security functions to PSP/GNR/PJ, and administrative immigration matters to AIMA and IRN.
Expat Interface: Expats contact AIMA for residence permit applications and renewals (D7 passive income, D8 digital nomad, Golden Visa), family reunification, asylum requests, and visa extensions. AIMA operates 34 service counters nationwide, requires complete document submission (mandatory since April 2025), and processes cases that typically take 6-18 months. The agency inherited 300,000+ pending cases from SEF, with government funding allocated to clear backlogs.
Pedro Gaspar is the president of the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo or AIMA). His office is responsible for migration and asylum policies, so changes or statements from him affect migrants, asylum seekers and those using integration services in Portugal.
