AIMA President Pedro Portugal Gaspar leaves: New leadership change in the institution

A new top-level change is taking place at Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA), the center of immigration proceedings in Portugal.

Pedro Portugal Gaspar, who has been chairman of the board of directors of the institution since July 2024, is preparing to leave AIMA and take over the management of Autoridade da Concorrência (AdC).

Gaspar will be heard in Parliament as part of the process of appointment as a member of the ADC board of directors.

From AIMA to the competition authority

Pedro Portugal Gaspar had been serving as president of AIMA since July 29, 2024.

According to the parliamentary agenda, Gaspar will appear before the MPs within the scope of the process of determining him as a member of the board of directors of Autoridade da Concorrência.

AdC is the independent regulatory body that oversees the enforcement of competition rules on markets in Portugal.

Therefore, the change in question does not result from a change of duties within AIMA, but from a transition to the management of another public institution.

It comes at a sensitive time for AIMA

The change comes at a remarkable time for AIMA.

The institution still manages an intense workload related to files from the old SEF era and the manifestação de interesse system, residence card renewals, family reunification applications and various administrative processes.

According to AIMA's 2025 report published today, the institution recorded more than 671 thousand appointments and more than 605 thousand face-to-face transactions last year. carried out.

For this reason, the change of management is not just a corporate appointment, but is taking place at a time when the ongoing transactions of hundreds of thousands of foreign citizens are being managed.

Warning from the union

Sindicato dos Técnicos de Migração publicly shared its concerns regarding Gaspar's departure.

The union argues that AIMA should not experience management uncertainty again.

This evaluation is the opinion of the union; It does not mean that operations at AIMA will stop or that existing applications will become invalid.

What is changing now for applicants?

There is no new application procedure announced at this stage for people who have ongoing residence, renewal or family reunification at AIMA.

There is no statement that existing appointments or applications have been automatically canceled due to the change of president.

Therefore, in terms of individual applications, announcements to be made through AIMA's official channels should be followed.

The most important question will be who will take over the institution after the departure of Pedro Portugal Gaspar and how the transition process will be managed.

Resources

ECO — September 21, 2026

https://eco.sapo.pt/2026/09/21/pedro-portugal-gaspar-troca-aima-pela-autoridade-da-concorrencia/

Rádio Renascença — September 21 2026

https://rr.pt/noticia/pais/2026/09/21/pedro-portugal-gaspar-sai-da-aima-e-pode-assumir-cargo-na-autoridade-da-concorrencia/486305/

Assembleia da República — Agenda Parliamentar

https://agenda.parlamento.pt/