Francis Pinho is not satisfied. He is sitting on a bench he brought from home at the entrance to the new center for immigrants of the agency’s Mission Structure for Migration, which opened its doors this Monday in the center of the Hindu Community, in Telheiras. He was the first to arrive, it was midnight and half past midnight, when the cold wind was blowing. It is 8:30 a.m. and he is still there. In one of his arms he carries a stack of documents relating to his process, in his hand a pen ready to write down whatever is necessary and, hanging from his pants pocket, he carries a small flag of his country of origin, Brazil. They do not let him in.

The 35-year-old is one of dozens of migrants who arrived this morning at the operations centre set up by the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) to resolve the more than 400,000 pending cases. All those who received emails from AIMA during the past week are arriving to schedule an appointment. All those who, unaware that a reservation was required, were at the door, hoping to arrive early and get a place to be seen. This is the case of Francisco, who has been in Portugal for two and a half years and has been waiting for an appointment ever since.

“I saw on the news that they were going to carry out a mega operation, a working group to deal with immigrant cases. So I was the first to arrive. I sat down, I got this cold, this wind, and now I have the information that they will only serve those who have an appointment.“He laments, in statements to the Observer. Even so, he does not move and tells the story to the journalists who pass by.

Away from the chaos of microphones and cameras, Kelum Indhi waits patiently for his lawyer to arrive. Born in Sri Lanka, he has worked in countries such as Dubai and Qatar and two years ago he arrived in Portugal to start a new life with his family. Although, unlike many who gather in front of the Hindu community, he has an appointment for 9:30 am, he is afraid of what awaits him inside. “I waited a long time. This date came and I am a little scared. I don’t know what will happen.”admits.

Without an appointment, dozens of migrants remained at the door of the new center

The Hindu Community Centre on Mahatma Gandhi Avenue, where one of the capital’s main Covid-19 vaccination points operated for two years, was the location chosen to house the first centre of AIMA’s mega-operation. Until the opening, which the Government says will be soon, of another 30 service centres in the country, it will continue to receive dozens of people daily, with extended hours, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Only applicants who have submitted applications for legalisation through expressions of interest before June 2024 and who have received an appointment email will be accepted.

This morning, immigrants from India, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Angola and many other countries gathered at the entrance in front of the Armed Forces Hospital. Some arrived several hours early to see the new space and make sure they wouldn’t be late. As soon as the doors opened at 8 a.m., an agency employee began filtering through the approximately three dozen migrants who had or didn’t have an appointment for that day. The group of those who did not have —either because they did not know that an appointment was necessary or because they wanted to clarify doubts or unblock ongoing processes— was the biggest and walked away with visible disappointment.

Undaunted, Francis Pinho was the only one who stayed there, even after the immigration agency employee told him he had to go to the AIMA LISBOA II store in Anjos, which operates without an appointment and exclusively for information. The man refused to go there. He has been to this and other centers, and has often arrived there in the early hours of the morning hoping for a vacancy, and he says he knows what awaits him: “More generic answers.”

“’Email, wait, call.’ And that’s it, then. There is service, but that does not mean that this service is effective.“, he criticizes. “They said that I have to go to Anjos, but on the AIMA website it says that the service will be exclusively for information. And I think: if I am in a working group And I am here with all the documents, I know my case myself because I have to take my information there, can’t I deal with it here? he asks.

He arrived in Portugal alone two years ago and, unlike some immigrants who are accompanied by lawyers, he is the only one who has to deal with the process of obtaining a residence permit. “I don’t hire a lawyer because I send money to my brother, who is studying medicine in Argentina. And paying a lawyer means I have to stop sending money for one or two months,” he explains. He adds: “I am the expert in my case. I have time, energy and I want to deal with it independently.”

It is only at the end of the morning that he says goodbye to those who heard his story there, tired after a whole night of service. He only does this after an AIMA employee comes to the place on purpose to talk to him. The matter is far from resolved, there is still no appointment, but he seems more optimistic. “Now I am going to rest,” he says as he leaves.

Following the confusion surrounding appointments, AIMA has already published a statement on its website warning that the service centre operates “exclusively by appointment”. A statement reinforced by the Minister of the Presidency in statements to journalists, after a visit to the place.You have to come here and anyone who had an appointment had to be notified to come here. (…). There is no public service that warns all Portuguese not to go where there is no space or service,” said António Leitão Amaro.

The more than two years waiting for an appointment that lasted 15 minutes

The Kelum Indhi brand It took two and a half years to arrive.The 46-year-old Sri Lankan-born man arrived in Portugal on a Schengen visa, which has since expired. He arrived with his wife and soon after they celebrated the birth of a daughter. It was only after ten months, during which he worked part-time in hotels, that he managed to find a full-time job. He is currently employed by the American embassy, ​​a job he obtained thanks to his long experience in this field, which saw him pass through Dubai and Qatar.

As soon as he found a job that allowed him to remain in a regular situation, although he had to stop leaving the country at the risk of not being able to re-enter, Kelum requested the expression of interest, a mechanism abolished by the new Government that allowed foreign workers to request legalization in national territory. Just a few months ago he received an email from AIMA notifying him of an appointment last Monday at one of the centers in Lisbon. An appointment that ended up being cancelled by the agency via email, with the indication of a new date and place: Monday, September 9, at 9:30 a.m., precisely at the mega operations center set up by the agency to resolve the 400 thousand pending regularization processes.

He had already sent all the documents required by AIMA: identification document, criminal record, employment contract, proof of accommodation and financial capacity. For the Observer, he assumes that he is anxious, but still has hope. “I am very happy today (…) And I hope everything goes well”He says, while waiting for the arrival of the lawyer, who has been following his case for about three months.

There are also those waiting outside for family and friends. This is the case of Francisco Amorim, 28, who came to “support” his girlfriend, who moved from Macedonia to Portugal. “Almost two years ago she applied for residency in Portugal. Only now, in the last few months, has the process moved forward,” he explains, sitting cross-legged on the wall of the Hindu community.

Like Kelum, she made an appointment for 9:30 a.m. and the appointment was cancelled at another center, where, just in case, she ended up going there. “We were very suspicious and didn’t believe it, so we went there anyway.”The young man explains. They had already received fake emails sent in the name of AIMA; the agency warned in August this year about the circulation of “fraudulent” messages.

This Monday, the distrust returned after receiving calls that were claimed to be from official AIMA numbers made available. onlinepostponing this morning’s appointment until 4:30 p.m. “We came here to confirm whether it was true or not, but no one said anything. She came in and it seems to be going very well,” she says. Inside, she is greeted by one of the approximately 100 employees, including AIMA workers and sociocultural mediators hired by civil society organizations such as the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). They collect biometric data, take photographs and reanalyze the documentation that each migrant submitted to AIMA through the portal.

A wait of 90 days to four months to obtain the long-awaited Residence Permit card

During the morning, journalists were not allowed to enter the centre where the migrants were being treated. The only description of the place was given by those leaving, who explained how they were asked not to film or take photographs of the place. The Observer describes it as a busy but “organised” environment. It was not until the afternoon, with the visit of the Minister of the Presidency, that cameras were authorised.

The centre was divided into several numbered areas where the migrants were to go, according to the email. “Interconnected” spaces where around 100 employees worked, sitting in front of computers at tables covered with purple tablecloths. The only apparent flaw, according to a lawyer who preferred not to be identified, was the fact that no evidence was provided to prove that the people had turned up on the date of their appointment.

As they leave the centre, mostly through a garage at the back of the building, several people are optimistic about Monday’s reception. Lawyer Guillianna Ottoni, who accompanied a Bangladeshi migrant in the morning and will be with other clients at the new centre for the rest of the week, highlights the fast and punctual service.

Carla Valente, a lawyer for Kelum Indhi, confirms this, explaining that it only took about 15 minutes. She reports good organisation and only one initial delay. “We waited about half an hour. But it has nothing to do with previous delays,” she stresses. “I think they did a good job this time”Kelum also summarizes.

AIMA employees informed Guillianna Ottoni that the documents will now be analyzed and that the client’s green card will arrive within 90 days. Kelum Indhi will have to wait a little longer, about four months. “If they resolve this in four months it would be wonderful, especially for those who waited two and a half years,” says her lawyer.

El Observador questioned AIMA about the number of cases that were attended to throughout the day and about the start of the mega-operation. Until the publication of the report, no response had been received, only a statement sent to the editorial offices highlighting that, “given the effectiveness of the process and the optimization of resources, cases without an appointment will not be attended to at this service center.”

The only report came from the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), through the words of Carla Belforte, who followed the start of operations remotely. In telephone statements to the Observer, she said that the organization’s mediators, who received training to work with AIMA, are “enthusiastic” and that The start has been described as “positive”. On Friday, the JRS president had already told the Observer that he was optimistic, but stressed that the organisation’s decision to join forces was well thought out and that it was first and foremost the responsibility of the State. “It is an extraordinary situation, but it deserves the full collaboration of civil society,” he said.

Also as a summary, the Minister of the Presidency stated from the new facilities that the new structure is already giving results. “Just today [segunda-feira]the first day, We increased AIMA’s response capacity by 25%“, he stressed. Leitão Amaro guaranteed that the Government will meet the deadline and that by June 2025, when the new centre is expected to close, the more than 400,000 pending cases will be resolved.