A new agency, the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) was established in Portugal on 29 October. The agency has 740 employees, a budget of 81 million euros, and currently comprises 34 offices across the country. It is set to open at least 10 new offices within a year and to hire 190 new staff members.

In the AIMA statutes, published in the official national gazette, the government says in a statement:

"[the new agency] represents a paradigm shift in the way the Public Administration relates to foreign citizens, whether that be upon their entry and stay in national territory, in their hosting and integration, or in terms of combating racism and the integration of ethnic groups, improving the quality of public services with gains in efficiency and the resources allocated to them".

The statement also outlines how the new agency embodies the separation of police and administrative functions, highlighting that “it will now be possible to initiate a series of new measures, functionalities and policies that will expand and improve the quality of access to services” and “reinforce the security of processes and procedures and the trust and credibility of users and society in the system”.

A new AIMA online portal, to be launched by the end of the year, will handle requests for family reunification from older residents, dispensing with telephone scheduling. In 2024, in addition to promotion of the Portuguese language, the functions of this portal will be expanded to handle applications for the granting and renewal of residence permits.

A multidisciplinary national centre to manage international protection processes and monitor refugees and asylum seekers - from the moment they file their asylum application or arrive in Portugal until they are fully integrated - is also set to be opened.