Traveling Hundreds of Kilometers for a Two-Minute AIMA Appointment

You know the famous issue that disturbs the sleep of everyone who goes to Portugal and tries to start a new life here at least once: Waiting for a residence permit. One of the most common problems I hear from the expat and immigrant community here in Lisbon, while walking on the street or sitting in a cafe, is these endless AIMA appointments.

To speed up the operation of the system, they decided to reduce congestion in Porto and Lisbon and shifted services out of the centre. Although it seems logical to distribute the intensity on paper, the reality of the situation on the field is unfortunately a torture.

Wherever There Is Space...

Imagine, you have to leave your home and go to another city hundreds of kilometers away for just a short two-minute document delivery or signature process. Because the system gives the appointment not according to where you live, but wherever it finds a vacancy at that moment. In this case, the travel expenses out of your pocket, the hours spent on the roads, and the treatments that can completely change depending on the initiative of the officer in the office you go to, make people bored.

The story of Brazilian Aguinaldo Lima is actually a picture that many of us around here are familiar with or have witnessed from some corners. It took exactly two years and three months for him to get his residence permit. As if it wasn't enough to travel all those kilometers just to meet with AIMA, he went through a very turbulent process, dealing with intervening rejection decisions and courts.

Not an Exception, the New Normal

The most annoying part is that Aguinaldo's experience is not an isolated misfortune. Instead of making paperwork easier, AIMA's strategy of allocating appointments has turned into a real headache for immigrants.

Although it is said that the legal status is preserved even if the documents expire; Gaps in the law, the difficulty of lawyers defending themselves, and sudden notices to evict or leave the country leave people trying to survive here with a constant state of being on edge. When increasing immigration office fees are added, the cost of that two-minute appointment becomes much heavier for everyone.

Getting through these processes without getting lost in the wheels of bureaucracy is truly a great test of patience. I hope a more practical and people-oriented solution to these "intercity AIMA tours" will be found.

Source: JN (Jornal de Notícias) / John Nogueira

Image Source: Pedro Gomes Almeida