AIMA Impasse: Lawyers in Revolt, Immigrants Desperate

The queues at the AIMA gates of the immigration office in Portugal, hours of uncertainty and locked appointment systems have now exhausted the patience of not only the immigrants but also the lawyers who follow these files. Finally, the Portuguese Bar Association (Ordem dos Advogados) went to the field and examined the situation on site and revealed the gravity of the situation very clearly.

The visit of the Bar Association delegation to the AIMA center in Anjos, Lisbon, officially documented the problems that everyone has been talking about for months but have not been resolved. The personnel shortage in the institution, non-functional digital infrastructure and arbitrary practices that vary from branch to branch now directly hinder people's most fundamental constitutional right, the right to defense and legal action.

Queues Starting at Night and Unanswered Phones

The picture conveyed by João Massano, President of the Bar Association, is actually the reality we see on the street:

People and lawyers pile up at the door early in the morning and struggle with disproportionate wait times for hours.

The information on the online portal is either inaccurate, incomplete or completely out of date.

It is impossible to get information by phone; The call center directs the callers directly to the portal that is not working and throws them away.

Finding out whose desk a file is on or what stage it has reached is like a lottery. This makes it impossible for lawyers to present a realistic schedule to their clients.

Rules That Vary from Office to Office

One of the most annoying aspects of the job is legal uncertainty. Two different applications in the same situation may be treated differently in different offices of AIMA. A document accepted by one branch may be rejected by another; This completely eliminates the principle of equality.

Moreover, hundreds of people have to wait at those doors for hours just to update a simple e-mail address or inquire about the fate of their files. If the digital system worked properly, at least half of this meaningless burden on offices would be eliminated in one day.

The Problem Is Not Just Lawyers' Problem, It's Everyone's Problem

The Bar Association emphasizes that the state should urgently allocate a serious budget to AIMA, increase the number of personnel and completely renew the technological infrastructure. This isn't just a matter of making lawyers' jobs easier; The most basic guarantee of rights for people who come to the country, try to establish order here and pay their taxes.

The institution's own employees are already fed up with the severity of the conditions; The strikes at the beginning of the summer were also a result of the government not keeping its promises. It seems that this crisis will not be solved unless a serious state intervention is made in the system and a solid budget investment is made.

Source: Natasha Donn / Portugal Resident (with Lusa data)

Image: Miguel A Lopes / Lusa