Prime Minister emphasizes that foreigners who do not have adequate documentation will have to leave Portugal

Part of the 108 thousand immigrants rejected by AIMA have already left Portugal.

The Prime Minister of Portugal, Luís Montenegro, stated during the biweekly debate at the Assembly of the Republic, held on Wednesday (December 11), that a portion of the 108,000 immigrants whose residence permit applications were denied by the Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (AIMA) has already left the country. Those who remain in Portuguese territory will have to leave. "Many are no longer in Portugal, and those who are will have to leave. That is the consequence," said the Prime Minister in response to questions from the leader of the Socialist Party (PS), Pedro Nuno Santos.

However, Montenegro did not provide details on how the process of removing these immigrants with rejected residence applications will be carried out. Pedro Nuno Santos directly asked: "Who are these 108,000, where are they, will they leave (the country), and how will they leave?" The Prime Minister did not answer any of these questions, raising concerns among experts and immigrant communities. Lawyer Catarina Zuccaro, who works in the field of immigration, explained that it is still possible to appeal AIMA's denials, either through administrative procedures or judicial actions.

According to Zuccaro, only after all legal remedies have been exhausted can the government send a voluntary departure letter to immigrants whose applications remain denied. "By law, this letter gives people 20 days to leave the country," she highlighted. The Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, António Leitão Amaro, mentioned that many of AIMA's rejections were due to unpaid mandatory fees but emphasized that applicants could still pay these fees to have their residence applications re-evaluated by the agency. Thus, there are still possible solutions for those in this situation.

Work Visas

In the same biweekly debate, in response to the Socialist deputy, Luís Montenegro reiterated that the government would not reactivate the "manifestation of interest" system, which was abolished in June this year. This mechanism allowed foreigners who entered Portugal as tourists to later request a residence permit. "The response is straightforward: we will not waive the requirement for a work visa or job search visa for those coming to Portugal," said the Prime Minister. The questions raised by Pedro Nuno Santos were based on pressure from business owners who warn about labor shortages in the country due to the restrictive immigration measures imposed by the public administration.

This week, business leaders expressed their concerns to the government on two occasions. The first was during a meeting with Luís Montenegro on Monday (December 9), and the second was during a lunch with António Leitão Amaro and executives at the International Club on Wednesday. On this occasion, the minister challenged the business leaders, stating that the government could reduce the time required to issue work visas to less than 30 days, provided that employers commit to selecting immigrants, recruiting them, signing contracts in advance, and ensuring decent housing for these workers. The construction sector, for instance, urgently needs at least 80,000 workers.

Fonte: JORNAL PUBLICO PT