Legal action against AIMA to get an appointment | Portugal

Legal Actions Against AIMA: A Path to Regularizing Immigrants in Portugal

Many immigrants in Portugal are achieving success in legal actions against AIMA regarding their residence permit applications.

Irregularity Situations

Currently, numerous foreigners find themselves in irregular or illegal situations due to the absence of a residence permit. This issue has been exacerbated by AIMA’s inability to provide appointments for foreigners to submit their documents, undergo biometric data collection, and formalize their residence permit applications.

Consequences of Lack of Appointments

The lack of appointments is subjecting foreigners to a chaotic, humiliating, and desperate situation. This scenario can cause severe emotional distress due to the uncertainty and marginalization faced by immigrants.

Unfortunately, there is no forecast for the opening of new appointments. AIMA has hundreds of thousands of pending cases and will unlikely open new slots before resolving these backlogs.

Breach of Legislation

AIMA is breaching Portuguese legislation in several ways, including not providing appointments for renewing residence permits, family reunification, expression of interest, etc. This non-compliance has led many immigrants to resort to legal actions as the only solution to secure an appointment with AIMA.

Purpose of Legal Actions

Generally, legal actions aim to have the Portuguese judiciary order AIMA to provide an immediate appointment to the applicant. It is important to remember that a legal action is a request directed to a judge, made by a lawyer. Therefore, the lawyer makes the request and then waits for the decision to be made by the judge. Thus, there should never be a promise of success, as it is impossible to predict the court’s decision in each case.

Increase in Legal Actions

Nonetheless, foreigners have no other option but to file legal actions to secure an appointment with AIMA. The number of legal actions against AIMA is increasing, which has created a backlog of requests in the Portuguese judiciary. Therefore, one should not expect a quick judicial decision.

Conclusion

In summary, the situation for immigrants in Portugal is challenging due to AIMA’s inability to manage residence permit processes efficiently. Legal actions have proven to be a viable alternative, although not a quick fix. Immigrants should be aware of legal procedures and seek proper guidance to navigate this complex process.

Author of the article

Adriano Martins Pinheiro is a lawyer in Portugal and works exclusively in the area of immigration.

tags: Legal actions against AIMA, Residence permit applications, Immigrants in Portugal, Irregular or illegal situations, Absence of residence permit, AIMA appointments, Biometric data collection
Formalize residence permit, Emotional distress for immigrants, Uncertainty and marginalization, Opening of new appointments, Pending cases with AIMA, Portuguese legislation breach
Renewing residence permits, Family reunification, Expression of interest, Immediate appointment request, Filing legal actions, Portuguese judiciary backlog, Navigating legal procedures