400,000+ Applications to Process: Portugal’s AIMA Aims to Clear Immigration Backlog by 2025

Brittany Collins

In October 2023, Portugal cancelled the operation of Immigration and Border Service, SEF, handing over all outstanding applications to a newly created Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum, AIMA. According to recent announcements, AIMA must process more than 400,000 pending applications.

400,000+ Applications to Process: Portugal's AIMA Aims to Clear Immigration Backlog by 2025

The primary goal of creating AIMA was to address the growing backlog of immigration applications and enhance the efficiency of immigration processes. The authority inherited more that 300,000 pending cases from SEF.

According to AIMA’s President, Luís Goes Pinheiro, the agency currently has around 410,000 immigrant cases to process. Among these, 342,000 are related to expressions of interest and administrative processes for residence authorisation, with an additional 70,000 processes in progress.

Initiatives Introduced to Facilitate Processing of Applications

AIMA plans to hire over 100 new employees and resolve all pending cases by the summer of 2025. Furthermore, a Mission Structure for the Recovery of Pending Processes at AIMA has been created. The body will operate until June 2025 with up to 300 dedicated personnel to assist in the administrative processing of cases and support applicants.

On June 26, 2024, the government approved an automatic one-year extension of expiring residence permits and visas for immigrants. This extension, valid until June 30, 2025, provides temporary relief for immigrants awaiting the renewal of their documents.

The overload of the country’s immigration system significantly affected all programs for immigrants in Portugal. Among these is the Portugal Golden Visa program, which has seen an increase in application processing from over six months to more than a year.

What is a Portugal Golden Visa

The Portugal Golden Visa program offers residency to non-EU nationals who make investments to the Portuguese economy of at least €250,000.

There are five options available to investors under the program:

supporting arts and cultural heritage — €250,000+;
financing research activities — €500,000+;
purchasing investment fund units — €500,000+;
investing in an existing business — €500,000+;
opening a company — no minimum threshold.

The Portugal Golden Visa is granted for two years and extends to the investor’s family, including spouse, children, and parents.

To maintain residency, Golden Visa holders are not required to move to Portugal; the only requirement is to spend at least 7 days per year in the country. If the investor and their family members remain Portuguese residents for 5 years, they become entitled for permanent residency or citizenship.