New regulation to modernize and simplify immigration procedures

The immigration proceedings in Portugal will become faster and simpler, that is the plan of the Portuguese Government for 2024 and one that is reflected in the new regulatory decree amending the legal regime of Foreign Law in Portugal (Law no. 23/2007).

With the recent changes to the Law, which were also included by the “Mais Habitação” program, and most significantly for the restructuring of SEF – Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras, which lead to the creation of the new agency AIMA - Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo, I. P., it became necessary to solidify the recent changes in the diploma.

The main aim is to modernize and simplify the administrative procedures currently in place by the immigration authorities to ensure that the new agency AIMA will have the necessary tools to analyze and decide the cases in a timelier manner, with less bureaucracy, but still increased security requirements.

These measures are in line with the announced plan by the Government for the new agency to solve the current backlog and delay in the analysis of applications.