Among Rising Delays, Asian Migrants in Lisbon Stage Demonstration for More Equitable Residency Processing
More than a hundred people, mostly of Asian descent—gathered outside Lisbon’s Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) to demand prompt action on the long-existing delays in their residence permit applications, driving an increasing sense of frustration among immigrant communities in Portugal.
The Immigrant Solidarity Association’s protest highlighted complaints that have been festering for months. Many of the demonstrators, mostly Asian, have lived and worked in Portugal for many years—voiced their discontent with the government’s slow reaction regarding their legal situation. Echoing a more general call for clearer and kinder migration policies, they screamed demands for fair treatment and held signs saying, “We are all legal.”
The president of the coordinating committee, Timotheus Macedo, gave media interviews during the demonstration. He slammed the persistent administrative inertia and stressed that although many Asian immigrants would have met all legal and financial obligations, including Social Security payments, they still wait indefinitely for official acceptance. Macedo also doubted the government’s latest signed pacts meant to speed up foreign labor recruitment, saying that these policies give economic considerations precedence over the rights of current immigrant communities already living in the nation. He referenced numerous grievances from Asian nationalities like Bangladeshi, Nepali, Indian, and Pakistani nationals—many of whom claim to feel ignored in spite of their legal initiatives and economic contributions. “These people are working, paying taxes, integrating into Portuguese society, yet they are treated as if they are invisible,” Macedo said.
Though the Portuguese government has tried to simplify regularisation processes with reforms, the success of these remains to be seen. In January 2025, AIMA introduced a digital platform meant to help immigrants who can show a legitimate employment agreement and Social Security contributions before June 4, 2024, including one particular effort. Reducing the compulsory contribution period from twelve months to only one month also helps alleviate past requirements, says immigration attorney Klaudia Freitas; therefore, this is quite a major shift in policy. Notwithstanding this, applicants still question when and how their status will be officially handled, sometimes adding to the sluggish rate of application processing and much uncertainty.
Portugal still has problems handling its immigration load. The recent demonstration was a clear sign of the human cost of administrative incompetence, given thousands of foreign nationals yet to have residency decisions. The protest in Lisbon was not just for faster paperwork—it was for acknowledgment, dignity, and the equal treatment guaranteed by the democratic institutions of Portugal.
