18,000 immigrants will be notified to leave Portugal in the coming weeks

Thousands of immigrants are being notified by the agency for integration, migrations and asylum (AIMA) to leave Portugal, having twenty days to do so.

The confirmation was made by the Minister of Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, who said, in statements to journalists, this Saturday, that these 4,574 immigrants are only the « first group » of foreign citizens who had their requests for permanence in the country refused.

The more than 4,500 are part of a list of 18,000 immigrants, whose refusal to stay in the national territory has already been decided. The rest should be notified very soon.

« We will reach 18,000 in the following weeks, » said Leitão Amaro, noting that there are « another 110,000 lawsuits. »

The minister believes that « most of the requests will be granted, but warns that at the same time, there will also be » more rejection and more notifications for abandonment of the national territory. « 

For Leitão Amaro, these notifications for abandonment of the country are the way to a “regulated migration” policy defended by the government of AD.

« Failure has consequences and, in these cases, these are situations that violate Portuguese and European rules to be in the national territory, » said the minister.

« For justice with those who fulfill the rules in Portugal, Portuguese and foreign, a state that fulfills the rules needs to take the consequences that the law sends, » he said, adding that « what the law rules is notifying for abandonment. »

The minister also said that the deadline to voluntarily abandon the country is 20 days after which the so -called « coercive removal » should occur.