Bangladeshi MD Mubasshir Hussain told The Portugal News that at 5:30pm yesterday they were still awaiting word from AIMA since the protest started at 10 am. Two protestors were granted access to AIMA's office at around 3.30 pm to meet with an executive.

Like many others, Mubasshir is also waiting for his residence card, which he applied for on the 14 February 2024. Due to family-related circumstances, he was supposed to fly to Bangladesh on the 6 April 2024, which did not happen.

After sending multiple emails to both AIMA (The Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum) and IRN (Institute of Registries and Notary) to try to find a solution, he did not get any relevant response back. “I visited AIMA three days ago where I was told to visit IRN. I spoke to a security officer from IRN and they advised me to contact AIMA”, he shared adding that “I have been trying to find a solution to my problem, but no one even tries to solve it”.

Mubasshir claims that around 300 people attended the demonstration over the course of the day, and that all migrants are experiencing the same sense of “helplessness”. “My wife is unable to process her visa on her own without my assistance, and I’m unable to travel to Bangladesh to assist her”, he lamented.

Around 6.30 pm, the two representatives of the demonstration came back with some news regarding the status of the migrants’ residence cards, where they were told that “Some of the people who applied in November/December have their processes completed, however not all of them, and for those who applied in January or later we have no updates yet.”

“Lengthy waits”

Following the meeting, Mubasshir reported that the response they received from the officers was that they were "Unable to specify the length of the wait for individuals who submitted their application after January, but it will be a while”, adding that “There will be an even lengthier wait for individuals who are applying for their first residency card”.

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There have been more than 100,000 scheduled appointments since AIMA was created. Nonetheless, although the government recognises the delay in regularisations, they have not provided any definitive solutions. As Mubasshir explained, “They stated that individuals who applied in November for an IRN card renewal will get their card very soon, and those who submitted their processes in December through AIMA still have to wait for the processes be completed”.

Abhi Kumar Sharma, who spoke with The Portugal News the day before the demonstration, has revealed that one of AIMA’s officers said that they “Don't have enough staff to complete all processes” and that for those migrants applying for their first residence card, they were only “approving the cards of those who submitted their application in September, as for the others they have to continue waiting”.

Author

After studying Journalism for five years in the UK and Malta, Sara Durães moved back to Portugal to pursue her passion for writing and connecting with people. A ‘wanderluster’, Sara loves the beach, long walks, and sports. 

Sara J. Durães