According to a report printed in ‘The Portugal News,’ more than 33,000 foreigners have had their residency application request rejected by the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA). Furthermore, they will receive a voluntary order to leave the country, states the Government.
Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, said:
“We had rejected 18 thousand applications, but now they are almost 24 thousand. We have already informed a thousand people that they have to leave the country.”
In a press conference regarding AIMA’s pending situations and the first year on the Plan of Action for Migrations, the minister affirmed that the process has already accelerated, as part of the procedure is now a semi-automatic process.
“The process is becoming faster, and all the 33 thousand – unless another reason is found will be notified to leave the country voluntarily. AIMA is currently issuing two thousand notifications a day.
At the beginning of May, AIMA notified 18,000 foreign citizens, a number that has now doubled. The minister stated that the notification, under Portuguese law, allows for the voluntary abandonment of the country. ‘ Deportation is only enforced when necessary.
Of the 33,983 rejection processes, most are related to Indian citizens (13,466). 5.386 Brazilian citizens have been rejected, 3,750 from Bangladesh, 3,279 from Nepal, 3,005 from Pakistan, 236 Colombian citizens, and 1,054 citizens from Algeria. AIMA rejections have also affected 234 Venezuelans and 180 Argentines. A further 603 Moroccans and 2,790 other nationalities have been refused residency status.
Article from The Portugal News
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
Photo: The Portugal News
