The Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) continues to process its enormous backlog of residency applications, with 23,500 immigrants having their residence permit applications rejected so far. Of these rejected applicants, 4,500 have already been notified to voluntarily leave the country within 20 days.
This figure is expected to rise even further by June 3rd, when the Mission Structure of AIMA concludes its work. Just last week, the Minister of the Presidency announced that 18,000 applications had been rejected, indicating a rapid increase in processing outcomes.
While rejections continue to mount, AIMA has approved 123,000 residence permits, representing 27.5% of the total 446,921 pending expressions of interest, according to an official Government source who spoke to Expresso.
The agency’s task has been somewhat reduced after the initial cancellation of 171,000 applications due to lack of payment. This left 275,000 expressions of interest to be processed with biometric data collected. Of these, 44.7% were approved for residence card issuance.
Enforcement actions have also been ongoing, with 42 administrative expulsions carried out throughout 2024 and 10 forced removals completed in the first quarter of 2025 alone.
In addition to processing new applications, AIMA has expanded its operations. Starting in mid-February 2025, the Mission Structure took on the responsibility of renewing and replacing residence permits for citizens from the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP). This process involves verifying criminal records from applicants’ countries of origin and recording biometric and personal data.
The agency plans to issue a new call in the coming days for CPLP citizens to exchange their current paper residence permits (A4 format) for plastic cards that meet European Union safety standards. Those who have already paid the required fee but missed their appointments will be summoned again soon.
Since the mission centers began operating in September last year, AIMA has addressed 440,000 previously pending cases related to defunct expressions of interest. The agency has also called 220,000 CPLP citizens to exchange their residence permits. The processing queue still includes approximately 50,000 Golden Visa investors and those who applied for family reunification.
Currently, 117,000 cases remain pending, though the government source notes that all of these have already been processed and distributed to the instructors or instructed for a final decision.
