First immigrant outreach centre starts processing 400,000+ case backlog

The first of a series of new immigrant centres to be created as part of an outreach network set up for Portugal’s Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) opened today in Lisbon, with around 100 staff to start analysing the backlog of more than 400,000 cases of people applying for resident status. The centre is based at the Hindu Centre in Telheiras, in the north of the city, with opening hours from 8am to 10pm. It is staffed by AIMA personnel and employees of civil society organisations who have received specific training from AIMA and other competent authorities to be of assistance. This outreach network is expected to remain in place until June 2025. Eventually, there are to be 29 centres spread across the country