Portugal's immigration agency AIMA approves about 385,000 new migrants

The mission structure of Portugal’s Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA) reported that it has approved processes for roughly 385,000 new immigrants, adding to the 218,000 newcomers already processed by the agency. The figures were presented to parliament by Minister António Leitão Amaro during a joint hearing of the constitutional and state‑reform committees, where discrepancies with the national statistics office were discussed.

AIMA handled 933,000 notifications of pending cases, made 525,000 decisions (including 51,622 refusals), and has already distributed 458,000 residence cards. Major procedural changes under the more restrictive migration policy introduced on 3 June 2024 included the abolition of the “manifestation of interest” route, adjustments to Community of Portuguese‑Speaking Countries (CPLP) authorisations, and a temporary regularisation regime for those already in the country. The agency also processed renewals for legal residents, issuing thousands of new cards.

These numbers illustrate a substantial increase in administrative workload compared with the agency’s historical average of 200,000 cases per year, reflecting the government's tighter stance on migration.