The Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) has reported to judicial authorities over a thousand cases of foreign citizens registered at the same addresses. This notification process is part of the review of expressions of interest, a mechanism that allowed immigrants without a work visa to seek legalization.
AIMA has been conducting a thorough verification of declared addresses and continuously informing the relevant authorities. The institution stated that upon identifying a significant number of foreign citizens listing the same address as their residence, it has the obligation to report these cases.
Recent reports highlighted instances where multiple individuals were registered at a single address. These cases became apparent after AIMA notified more than 440,000 citizens who had submitted expressions of interest and had been awaiting a response from the State for several years. Of these, approximately 170,000 foreign citizens did not pay the required fees to proceed with their applications. Consequently, AIMA issued formal termination notices for each of these cases, as mandated by law.
The review process has now enabled the verification of identities and declared residences. AIMA’s communication of these cases to the authorities follows instructions from the Government, as confirmed by a source from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
In early February, a trial began involving an alleged network facilitating illegal immigration in Penha de França, Lisbon. The address in question had been used by over 1,600 people as their residence. The case involves charges of aiding illegal immigration, document forgery, association to facilitate illegal immigration, and abuse of power.
