“The challenge regarding the issue of expressions of interest has been met”, summed up the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA), speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Local Support Centre for the Integration of Migrants (CLAIM) in Musgueira, Lisbon.

The new rules for immigrants in Portugal came into force about a year ago, on June 4, and one of the 41 measures in the Migration Action Plan involved ending expressions of interest, but around 440,000 applications were still pending, and a mission structure was created to resolve pending issues.

According to Pedro Portugal Gaspar, of all the applications pending at that time, 170,000 were archived due to a lack of response.

The rest have already been assessed and around half have been processed, the majority of which have been approved, and 4,500, because they did not meet the requirements, resulted in the applicants being notified to leave the country.

“The other half, around 130,000, still need to be processed and decided upon,” added the president of the AIMA Board of Directors.

Taking a brief look at the first year of the Migration Action Plan, Pedro Portugal Gaspar also highlighted the expansion of the network of local centers to support the integration of migrants and the implementation of the Regulated Labor Migration Pact, but pointed out challenges.

“AIMA also has internal organizational challenges, in terms of strengthening its team and improving technological tools to provide a better response to citizens. This is a matter that is under development,” he said.

According to the executive, in the last year, AIMA increased its human resources by approximately 5%, a reinforcement that he considers positive, but still insufficient.

“We will try, as a goal for this year, to have an increase of 25% to 30%. We will see if we can do it,” he said, pointing out that, on the other hand, the expansion of collaborative support networks with other entities also allows for an increase in response capacity.

The new Local Support Center for the Integration of Migrants (CLAIM), opened today at the premises of the Nasce e Renasce Association in Musgueira, Lisbon, will join a network of more than 170 centers in the country, with functions of welcoming, providing information and support to migrant citizens.

Related articles: