The day that everyone has been expecting has arrived.  Last Saturday was the official day when SEF (Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras) was still in office. The immigration service was terminated after being in force since 1986, having been the service responsible for all matters related to the borders, the legalization of foreigners in Portugal, and the issuing of Passports and Residency Permits.

As already announced before (Restructuring of the SEF is on the moving - It will happen until March 2023 (iaservices.pt)) the termination of SEF will divide the competencies owned by the previous immigration services into 3 others, one of which was created in exclusive for this new goal and makes the separation between administrative and police functions.

• POLICE COMPETENCES – will be divided between:

            - Criminal Police (“PJ”) – where de SEF inspectors will now be established;

            - Republican National Guard (“GNR”) – which will be responsible for the control of land and sea borders and Public Security Police;

            - (“PSP”) – the now on responsible for the air borders.

• RESIDENCIES AND VISAS – creation of a new entity:

            - Agency for Migration and Asylum (AIMA) – Information about their creation and competencies here: SEF's replacement has been approved (iaservices.pt)

• RENEWALS and ISSUING OF DOCUMENTS:

           - Civil Registry – The Civil registry will receive this competence already being implemented.

Furthermore, this reform in the Portuguese immigration system marks a change in the Government’s approach to immigration. According to the Portuguese Government, "this way, in situations of migratory pressure or humanitarian crisis, Portugal will be prepared to respond in a more coordinated and immediate way" to challenges such as trafficking in human beings and labor exploitation, "safeguarding the fundamental rights of migrants and refugees" and also a step forward in the implementation of digital components to the legalization process.

Regarding the backlog in the analysis of applications, namely in referring to the Golden Visa program, the government recognized the delays. It announced on Monday that it is expected that this matter will be dealt as a priority, which we assume means additional resources will be put in place to correct this situation with urgency. Also, the creation of the new entity will not impact your Golden visa application. The files that were under SEF analysis will be transferred automatically to the new entity.

We will continue to monitor the situation as closely as possible, keeping investors and partners informed of any developments while remaining available for any clarifications needed.