Almost 300,000 foreigners waiting to get residence in Portugal

Some 286,302 overseas residents were waiting on a decision on getting an Authorisation for Residency in Portugal in 2024 according to the latest report from the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA).

In total, AIMA has confirmed that there were 1,543,697 non-Portuguese citizens in Portugal that year – four times the number registered seven years ago by the then migration and borders agency SEF (421,802). The vast majority of them (71%) were legally resident – a fall of 34% in relation to 2023.

Nevertheless, it was reported that hundreds of residency renewal applicants spent the night (Thursday-Friday) queuing outside AIMA’s office in Lisbon according to SIC Notícias.

At 8am on Friday there were hundreds waiting outside the office while on Wednesday to midday 200 were given numbered tickets and 120 tickets on Thursday.

The Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, said on Thursday that the queues were not justified alleging that immigrants could have dealt with their renewals online, and added that 90,000 people had already dealt with their documentation that way.