The Difficult Legalization of Foreigners in Portugal – Immigrants

The legalization of foreigners in Portugal has undergone significant changes recently. In June 2024, through Decree-Law No. 37-A/2024, of June 3. This decree revoked the procedures that allowed the regularization of foreigners who, already being in Portuguese territory, were engaged in subordinated or independent professional activities without the appropriate visa. The government abolished the “expression of interest” procedure, which allowed foreign workers who contributed to Social Security but were still irregular in the country to apply for residence authorization in Portugal.

Later, to mitigate the impact of this change, Law No. 40/2024, of November 7, was approved, which established a transitional regime. This regime allows foreigners who contributed to Social Security before June 3, 2024, for at least one year, to complete their regularization process, even if they did not formally submit the expression of interest before the legislative change.

From that date, immigrants who wish to work in Portugal must apply for a specific visa at the Portuguese consulates in their home country before entering the national territory, as follows:

I
Those who were already in Portugal and submitted the expression of interest before its abolition:
The applications already submitted continue to be processed by the Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (AIMA), and interviews are scheduled where documentation is verified, the immigrant is identified and photographed, and the documentation is sent to contracted individuals (namely, lawyers contracted specifically for this extraordinary legalization) who assess the documentation.
Those who are called for an interview and, at the time of the interview, have less than one year of contributions to Social Security will be deported.
If AIMA has not notified the immigrant for the interview or if they have a valid reason for urgency, they may initiate a judicial process for the protection of rights, freedoms, and guarantees against AIMA.

II
For those who did not submit the expression of interest before its abolition and are already in the country:
In November 2024, Law 40/2024 was published, which attempted to legalize those who, by June 3, had contributed to Social Security for one year. However, in practice, this law did not come into effect due to the lack of necessary regulations for its application. This means that, currently, there is no established legal mechanism to regularize the situation of these immigrants who did not submit the expression of interest before its abolition.

III
Exception for citizens from the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP):
Recent changes to the Foreigners Law allow CPLP citizens, especially Brazilians, to enter Portugal without a visa and, already in the country, apply for residence authorization through an exclusive channel that will be made available on the AIMA website. This measure grants Brazilians a privileged status in the immigration process.

IV
For those who wish to come to Portugal to work and are not yet in the country:
It is officially mandatory to apply for a work visa at the Portuguese consulates in the home country before entering Portugal. Without this visa, it will not be possible to regularize their situation in the country.
But in fact, it is not at the Portuguese consulates in the home country, but rather through VFS Global.

V
VFS Global is a company specializing in outsourcing and technology services for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.
Administrators and Ownership Structure:
• In October 2021, Blackstone acquired a majority stake in VFS Global.
• The Kuoni and Hugentobler Foundation (KHF) maintained a minority stake in the company.
• Before this acquisition, VFS Global was owned by a private equity fund and was incorporated as VF Worldwide Holdings in Mauritius.
• The company’s investors included Chinese and UAE investment authorities, the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund, and Theo Müller.
Despite this, the current share capital of VFS Global is confidential.
Contracts with the Portuguese Government: VFS Global is the official partner of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for processing visa applications.
For example, all visa applications for Portugal must be processed at one of VFS Global’s Visa Application Centers in Brazil, located in Nova Lima/MG, Brasília/DF, Rio de Janeiro/RJ, Salvador/BA, or São Paulo/SP.
Another example, to apply for a visa to Portugal in Tehran, applicants must submit their applications through VFS Global.
Steps for the visa application:

Identify the type of visa required: Determine which visa suits the purpose of your trip, whether tourism, work, study, or another reason.
Gather the necessary documentation: Each type of visa requires a specific set of documents. It is essential to schedule the interview to know which documents are required.
Fill out the visa application form: Go to the website https://visa.vfsglobal.com/ago/pt/prt/apply-visa, fill out the visa application form completely and accurately. In fact, there is no specific list of required and indispensable documents, so it is at the discretion of the person assisting and the person being assisted.
Schedule a visit to the visa application center: Gather as many documents as possible and schedule a visit to the VFS Global visa application center. This scheduling is mandatory for submitting the application since Portuguese consulates do not have enough staff and delegate entirely to VFS Global.
Track the status of the application: After submission, you can track the status of the application through VFS Global’s online portal, using the reference number provided on the receipt and the applicant’s date of birth. It is common to need one more document than what you bring, but sometimes the fee is paid immediately.
Additional information:
• Processing times: Processing times may vary depending on the visa type and other factors. It is advisable to submit the application well in advance of the intended travel date.
• Applicable fees: Visa fees may vary depending on the type of visa requested.
• Be cautious: Depending on the country you are passing through, there are complicated situations that require caution. And if you complain about anything to the Consulate, ensure someone knows English because the Portuguese Consulate may respond in English to a question asked in Portuguese.
VI
Refused residence visa:
If an immigrant’s residence visa to work in Portugal is refused (and there will be thousands of refusals, which the state will not be able to respond to), they can take some steps depending on the reason for the refusal and their situation.

Common reasons for visa refusal:
• Lack of required documentation.
• Inconsistent data or incorrect information.
• Insufficient proof of financial means.
• Failure to meet employment contract criteria.
• Relevant criminal history.
• Entry restriction in the Schengen Area.
What happens after refusal?
• The applicant receives an official notification of the refusal, outlining the reasons, and they have 10 days (sometimes extendable for another 10 days) to provide the missing document.
• Depending on the situation, they can:
Correct and resubmit the application if the refusal is due to missing documents or errors (which is often impossible to obtain within 10 or 20 days, especially with an Apostille from The Hague, a document that must be obtained in a country where the immigrant has no connections).
File an administrative appeal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within the timeframe indicated in the notification.
File a judicial appeal if they believe there was an error in the decision.
Can you enter Portugal without the visa?
• If you are from the CPLP (e.g., Brazil, Angola, Mozambique): You can enter as a tourist and try to regularize your situation in Portugal, but you must call AIMA to schedule, as seen in the attached photo, spending days on the phone and paying for each call (the person making the calls in the photo has a contract where the first 1,000 calls are free).
• If not from CPLP: Entry without a visa can lead to refusal at the border or deportation.
VII
Deportation (or expulsion) of a foreigner in Portugal can occur for various reasons and follows a specific legal process. Depending on the case, it may involve both AIMA (Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum) and the courts.

Who can be deported?
Deportation can occur in the following cases:
• Illegal entry or stay in the country (e.g., without a visa or valid residence authorization or refusal by AIMA).
• Denied or expired visa or residence authorization without regularization.
• Committing serious crimes, potentially considered a threat to public order or national security.
• Violating Schengen Area stay rules – being deported or ordered to leave one of the Schengen Area countries.
Who decides deportation?
• AIMA can decide on administrative expulsion in cases of illegal entry or stay or refusal.
• Courts intervene if the expulsion is related to criminal convictions or if the immigrant appeals the AIMA decision.
How does the deportation process work?
A. Administrative expulsion (for irregular stay) – Decided by AIMA
The foreigner receives a notification to voluntarily leave the country within 20 days.
If they do not leave within that period, they may be detained and placed in a detention center (such as the Temporary Installation Center – CIT) – note the word may.
AIMA organizes the repatriation (usually by flight to the country of origin, requiring human resources to carry it out, although it is unclear if lawyers will be hired for this task due to insufficient personnel).
Foreigners’ rights:
• They can present a defense to AIMA.
• They can request exceptional residence authorization for humanitarian reasons.
• They can appeal the decision to an administrative court.
B. Expulsion by judicial decision (criminal cases or repeated violations)
The Public Prosecutor’s Office can request expulsion as an accessory penalty to a criminal conviction.
The court decides if there are grounds for expulsion.
If convicted, the foreigner is placed in custody until deported.
Foreigners’ rights:
• They can appeal the sentence to higher courts.
• They can argue family and social ties in Portugal to avoid expulsion.
What happens after deportation?
• The deported person may be banned from entering the Schengen Area for up to 5 years.
• If they have strong family ties in Portugal (spouse or Portuguese children), they may attempt to reverse the expulsion order.
Exceptions and Special Cases
• European Union (EU) citizens: They can only be expelled for public security reasons or serious crimes.
• CPLP citizens (e.g., Brazil, Angola, Mozambique): They have special rules and may find it easier to regularize their situation before deportation.
Current numbers of foreign citizens in Portugal:
According to the Bar Association, “there are 3,342 lawyers candidates offering services to the state for pending immigration cases. According to the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, AIMA is already responding to more than half of the 400,000 pending cases. According to the government, part of the 108,000 immigrants whose residence authorization requests were denied by AIMA are no longer in Portugal.”
The problem is that there are thousands of immigrants still in Portugal, many working, who will have their residence authorization requests denied by AIMA and continue to pay Social Security contributions. In other words, they continue contributing to Social Security but will be deported.
It is reported that immigrant contributions to Social Security are a way for Portugal to recover its financial deficit. What is not said is that while this is good for the current situation, when the time comes to pay pensions and send that money to the countries of origin (because that will eventually happen), the situation will become catastrophic. However, this is no longer a legal issue, so we will not delve into it.

The required contribution time to be entitled to a pension depends on age and years of contributions to Social Security or the General Pension Fund (CGA).
• Normal retirement age: 66 years and 4 months (gradually increasing with life expectancy).
• Full career: 40 years (i.e., a minimum of 480 months of contributions to avoid penalties).
• Access to early retirement: possible at 60 if you have at least 40 years of contributions (but with cuts to the pension, except in specific cases).
• Retirement without penalties: possible from 66 years and 4 months or 60 years with 46 years of contributions.

For example, until December 2023, there were approximately 513,000 Brazilians living legally in Portugal. It is unknown how many of them acquired Portuguese nationality and how many, once acquired, migrated to other European countries. It is estimated that about 200,000 of them were awaiting regularization by AIMA.
There are no official data available on the total number of undocumented foreign citizens in Portugal or the current number of denied visa requests and the solutions for them. The very request process in the home country of those who have not yet arrived is so random that those starting it comment that it seems to be an invitation to give up. But we will not delve into this issue, as it is not a legal matter.
Good luck – legal.