Starting in late July, immigrants regularizing their status at the Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA) will be automatically assigned a Social Security identification number (Número de Identificação da Segurança Social or NISS). This measure is part of a broader digital transformation program aimed at streamlining bureaucratic processes and reducing the need for in-person visits to government offices.
Immigrants to receive automatic Social Security numbers
Tuesday, 14 July 2026AI summary
Context & Explainers
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.
