António Leitão Amaro, Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, has announced that Portugal intends to cut down its visa procedure to one month in issuing work visas to immigrants. This announcement has come in the wake of widespread criticism of the delays in processing these same visas, especially for applicants coming from Brazil.
Current Problems in Visa Processing
Reports of applicants waiting over half a year for a visa have been released. This process faced difficulties since the closure of the Expression of Interest program in June 2022 this program enabled tourists to apply for work authorization after entering the country.
Labor Market Requirements
Portugal needs between 50,000 and 100,000 foreign workers annually to fill the enormous gaps in the local labor market. An estimated 80,000 workers are needed alone in the construction sector. Employers have warned that it would jeopardize national economic production and national development goals if those requirements are not met.
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Speeding up Visa Processing
To that end, the Portuguese government has proposed that the consular services be instructed to decide on visas for applicants in time or within 20 days. Some of the measures to be taken to expedite this process include:
- Employing an additional 50 staff members in consular offices.
- Increasing the responsiveness of the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA).
- Alliance towards faster processing time.
“We made that commitment, and we expect others to live up to that,” he stated while emphasizing that the government is dedicated to the improvement of efficiency, Minister Leitão Amaro concluded.
Skepticism About Attaining the Goal
The government assurances notwithstanding, immigration attorney Elizabeth Lima has her doubts about the proposal. “It takes months to get a visa and adding 50 personnel is not going to solve that problem. Portugal has many consulates, and even now the resources are not enough,” she told Politico Portugal. According to Lima, however, inefficiencies and lack of resources must be remedied first before achieving the ambitious but laudable goal of making visa processing within a month.
Innovation and Support Required
The Portuguese government’s proposal, however, speaks of its recognition of the international workers’ importance to the economy of the country. Successful implementation, however, would bring with it considerable logistics and operations challenges to overcome.