Authorities in Portugal have decided to no longer permit migrant workers who reached the country in an irregular way to stay in this territory while applying for a work permit.
Announcing the decision, the Deputy Minister, Rui Armindo Freitas, in charge of immigration policy, said the amendments are in line with European regulations, Schengen.News reports.
However, according to a Deutsche Welle report, representatives of non-governmental organisations see it as a concession to right-wing populists who rally against immigrants.
According to them, it mostly highlights the disorganised state of Portugal’s immigration policy, at least up to this point.
In this regard, the Deputy Ministers said the possibility of reaching the country first and then holding the needed documents attracted a large number of irregular migrants.
However, Freitas said the loophole needs to be closed quickly due to a backlog of about 400,000 legalisation applications at Portugal’s immigration agency AIMA.
The processing of these applications, some of which were submitted two years ago, should be organised by June of next year at the latest. We aim to solve problems that have built up over many years.
New Measures to Remove Irregular Citizens
Last month, the government of Portugal approved the introduction of the National Unit for Foreigners within the Public Security Police (PSP).
The Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, considered among the most tragic mistakes made by the previous government the way in which the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) was lifted.
There was a void in the return, removal of illegal citizens, the lack of supervision and a lot of entry control work. We had promised and we have implemented the creation of the National Unit for Foreigners and Borders in the PSP.
In June this year, Portugal announced its decision to end the path to legal status for foreign nationals entering this territory in an irregular way.
The decision came as part of the country’s plans to tighten immigration rules.
For 17 years, Portugal allowed people holding valid visas to work anywhere in Europe to be regularised. In 2018, the rule was extended by the former socialist government to include those entering the country without a visa. However, such a practice has now been abolished.
A report from the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), previously revealed that the number of non-European immigrants to Portugal almost doubled in the past five years.