Complaints to AIMA have halved: The union says "it has become difficult to complain"

The number of complaints against AIMA, the Portuguese Agency for Immigration, Integration and Asylum, has fallen by nearly half compared to 2024. While the institution's management evaluates this development together with the increased processing and service capacity, the union representing workers in the field of migration draws a very different picture: A decrease in complaints may not mean that the problems have decreased.

According to the information provided by AIMA President Pedro Portugal Gaspar, the institution carried out more than 600 thousand service transactions and issued more than 500 thousand residence cards in the last year.

Gaspar stated that in an operation of this size, it may be inevitable for complaints to arise due to reasons such as wrong address or errors in the residence card, and said that there was a significant decrease in the total number of complaints. citeturn0search0

Different statement from the union: The problem may be reaching the complaint channel

Sindicato dos Técnicos de Migração (STM), on the other hand, opposes accepting the figures announced by the AIMA management as an indicator of the improvement in service quality alone.

According to the union, the difficulties experienced by immigrants in communicating with AIMA, the lack of response to e-mails, the density of phone lines and the fact that some transactions cannot be concluded for a long time may be one of the factors explaining the decrease in the number of complaints.

STM also caused delays in the issuance of some residence permits, files with unknown finalization dates, personnel draws attention to the lack of service and limited service points. citeturn0search0

Therefore, at the center of the debate is a more important question than a simple statistic: Have complaints about AIMA actually decreased because the service has improved, or has it become more difficult for users to submit their complaints to the institution?

More detailed data is requested from AIMA

The union argues that total service and complaint figures alone are not sufficient to evaluate the institution's performance more accurately.

STM; It wants the number of still pending files, average response times according to application types, services that cannot be completed, incorrectly issued residence documents and the actual capacity at AIMA's different service points to be disclosed. citeturn0search0

Sharing these data with the public may provide a more objective evaluation of the performance of AIMA, where hundreds of thousands of foreigners carry out the residence procedures.

The role of CLAIM centers is also discussed

AIMA has recently been expanding its cooperation with CLAIM centers that provide support to immigrants at the local level. Pedro Portugal Gaspar's statements came during the signing of the protocol with the University of Évora for the establishment of a new Centro Local de Apoio à Integração de Migrantes.

STM, on the other hand, criticizes the directing of some transactions to CLAIM centers and states that the services under AIMA's own responsibility are increasingly He argues that it should not be transferred to other structures. citeturn0search0

Although the decrease in complaints announced for foreigners waiting for a residence permit in Portugal or making transactions through AIMA seems to be a positive indicator, it is not possible to consider the figure alone as evidence that services have improved due to the objections raised by the union.

Resources

ECO — Filipa Ambrósio de Sousa and Lusa, 9 September 2026: Reclamações contra a AIMA caem para metade, mas sindicato diz que é mais difícil reclamar