On April 22nd, 2025, AIMA (Agency for Integration Migration and Asylum) announced through digital media that the rules for accepting applications for the granting and renewal of residence permits will become stricter.

According to the statement, starting from April 28th, 2025, all the applications for the granting and renewal of residence permits will only be accepted by this Public Entity if they are completed. In other words, this means that if the applicant goes to AIMA without having all the documents required by Law 23/2007, July 14th, the application won’t be accepted at the time of the appointment.

Therefore, AIMA recommends that the applicants have all the legally required documents with them when submitting their applications so that the process can be accepted in due course.

Is this a suitable measure for the situation at AIMA?

If, on the one hand, this measure aims to reduce the number of cases pending due to a lack of documents, since poorly instructed cases can result in the “clogging up” of the work carried out by this authority, on the other hand, it may prove to be illegal when confronted with the rules governing this type of procedure.

In fact, let's look at the rules of the Code of Administrative Procedure (henceforth CPA) regarding the instruction of administrative procedures: the interested parties, applicants in administrative proceedings, have the right to attach documents to the file and opinions or request evidence useful for clarifying the facts that are relevant to the decision (see Article 116 (3)).

Additionally, the person in charge of directing the procedure can order interested parties to provide information, procedure documents or things, submit to inspections and collaborate in other means of proof (see Article 117 (1)), and even collect such elements in advance, if subsequent collection may prove impossible or difficult (see Article 120).

Interested parties have the right to be heard in the procedure before the final decision is taken, and must be informed, namely, of its probable direction, under the right to a prior hearing (see Article 121).

Considering the combination of these rules with those that determine the time limits applicable to administrative procedures, applicants therefore have the right to be notified to submit documents, with a period of 10 working days to respond to the respective notification (see Article 86(1)).

This body of law comes from a set of basic principles of administrative law, which have been positivized in the CPA itself, such as the principle of legality (Article 3), the principle of collaboration with private individuals (Article 11) and the principle of participation (Article 12).

From an analysis of these precepts, it is not lawful to form an administrative act of refusal without the interested party being given the opportunity to know the intention of the administrative body (AIMA) and to be able to instruct their claim with the appropriate means of proof.

In a similar vein, there is a violation of the constitutional rights on which the Portuguese rule of law is based. In fact, the right to identity, to the development of personality, to legal protection against any form of discrimination (as established in Article 26 of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic - CRP), as well as the right to freedom and security (Article 27 of the CRP) are violated, since the applicants end up being afraid to move to other countries, whether for work or leisure, as they fear they will not be able to return to Portugal, the country in which they intend to establish their residence. Other rights that are also called into question are the right to a family (Article 36 of the CRP), the right to work (Article 58 of the CRP) and the right to education and culture (Article 73 of the CRP), since a refusal of service by AIMA on the grounds of a lack of documents means that applicants are unable to establish their residence in national territory and thus establish or be close to their family, have access to work and future employment contracts, and access to education.

Thus, in what terms can this measure come into force?

In view of the above, we believe that in order for this measure to come into force while protecting the above-mentioned guaranteed rights, the most balanced solution to this issue would be to reschedule the appointment for another date (even if not chosen by the person concerned), if the applicant presents themselves at AIMA without having all the documents necessary for their claim to be granted.