Portugal's Government to Notify 18,000 Illegal Immigrants: What You Need to Know

Government Action on Illegal Immigration

Approximately 18,000 immigrants will be notified in the coming weeks to voluntarily leave Portugal, as confirmed by António Leitão Amaro, the Minister of the Presidency, during a press conference in Lisbon. He stated that 4,574 immigrants will receive notifications next week to depart within 20 days.

Leitão Amaro explained that these notifications are directed at immigrants whose residency requests were denied due to non-compliance with regulations. This marks the beginning of a broader initiative involving a total of 18,000 refusal decisions.

Reasons Behind the Notifications

Many of the affected individuals have been ordered to leave the Schengen Area by other European countries or have been banned from entry, having resided in Portugal under the expression of interest program. The minister mentioned that security services have been instructed to coordinate their efforts regarding these notifications.

According to Jornal de Notícias, the decision stems from an analysis by the Mission Structure for the Recovery of Pending Processes at the Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (AIMA). This group monitors around 18,000 residency authorization requests that have been denied for various reasons, including criminal activity by the applicants, irregular residency in other countries, or missing mandatory documents.

Next Steps for Immigrants

Those who do not comply with the notification to leave will face deportation processes. The government emphasizes the importance of adhering to these guidelines to ensure a smooth transition for affected individuals.