Persistence of operational failures, prolonged delays and critical service difficulties. This is the summary that the Complaint Portal made to the Agency for Integration, Migrations and Asylum (AIMA) between January and November this year, based on the thousands of complaints received, according to a statement sent to DN Brazil.
The reports published on the website point to “severe consequences”, such as family separations, work difficulties and the impossibility of international mobility. In total, 2,000 citizens used the portal. Between January 1 and November 19, 2025, 1,847 complaints were filed against the agencyan increase of 6.46% compared to the same period last year.
The quarterly evolution reveals a growing trend of pressure on services: 17.97% in the second quarter, 45.41% in the third and 46.61% in September, compared to the same month in 2024. According to Portal da Queixa, the months of April, May, June, July and September 2025 were “particularly critical”, all with significant increases in the volume of complaints compared to 2024.
According to the analysis of situations reported by immigrants, administrative and technical problems account for 41.53% of complaints. These include process errors, computer system failures, website and documentation problems. This is the category considered most critical and comprehensive, as it directly affects the regularization and legal permanence of thousands of citizens in Portugal.
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Next, problems arise service and communication, responsible for 22.14% of complaints. These are situations that involve difficulty in obtaining information, insufficient or non-existent responses and failures in customer support.
Delays and scheduling errors represent 19.06% of records, including delays in appointments, failure to meet deadlines and absence of dates for biometric collection or issuance of documents. Other reasons include financial problems (6.33%), service quality (6.06%) and legal and security issues (4.87%).
Impact of the service on the lives of immigrants
The profile of users who most use Portal da Queixa is concentrated in the main urban centers. Lisbon leads with 41.92% of occurrences, followed by Porto (17.38%) and Setúbal (10.40%). Faro (6.77%) and Braga (5.96%) complete the group of most represented regions.
Regarding age group, the majority are of working age: between 25 and 34 years old (41.96%) and 35 to 44 years old (31.84%). Men register more complaints (55.77%) than women (44.23%).
The statement also presents reports that show the impact of AIMA’s performance on the lives of immigrants. Arvind Singh says: “I’ve been trying to bring my elderly parents to Portugal for two years, but I can’t get an appointment at AIMA. […] We are crying every day.”
Beatriz Garcia reports that visas have not been decided for more than nine months: “The legal deadline is 60 days, but more than nine months have passed without a response, despite our attempts to contact.” Zixuan Guo, in turn, says she is prevented from traveling due to the lack of biometric marking: “This is causing great inconvenience; I can’t leave Portugal to visit my parents.”
The reported situations reveal a pattern of “disruption in the personal, academic and professional lives of users who depend on AIMA services“. Pedro Lourenço, founder of Portal da Queixa, states that the annual evolution of complaints against AIMA reflects “not only an increase in the volume of requests, but also a persistent inability of the system to respond efficiently, transparently and within acceptable deadlines“.
The lives of thousands of people are impacted. “The data points to a system under pressure, with structural and process management failures that affect thousands of users who depend on AIMA for immigration, residence, visas and family reunification.”
AIMA’s satisfaction index is also falling. Complaint analysis points to a worsening of citizens’ experiencemarked by frustration, insecurity and loss of confidence in administrative processes. Currently, the agency has a satisfaction rating classified as “Weak”, with a score of 18/100. Response and solution rates remain at 13%.
amanda.lima@dn.pt