“Noting the prudence of the legislator regarding the time needed to proceed with the transition of legislation, the President of the Republic enacted the decree of the Assembly of the Republic on the amendment to the deadline for taking effect of Law No. 73/2021, of 12 November, which approves the restructuring of the Portuguese border control system”.

The Government's proposal to postpone the end of the SEF until the Portuguese Agency for Migration and Asylum (APMA) is created was approved last week by the parliament, which, in a final global vote, had votes in favour from the PS and of the Left Bloc and with the abstention of the PSD, Chega, Iniciativa Liberal, PCP, PAN and Livre.

This was the second time that the end of the SEF, decided by the previous government and approved in November 2021 in the Assembly of the Republic, was postponed and approved in parliament.

APMA

This law determines that the current administrative powers of the SEF in relation to foreign citizens will be exercised by a new institution, the APMA, and by the Institute of Registries and Notaries, in addition to transferring police powers to PSP, GNR and the PJ.

In the draft law, the Government pointed to the dissolution of the Assembly of the Republic, the Covid-19 pandemic and the context of war in Ukraine as justifications for not having advanced with the restructuring of services. The Government also justified the second postponement with the need to mature the planned changes, namely in terms of training those who will be in charge of airport control.

The Minister of Internal Administration, José Luís Carneiro, said in parliament that the APMA, the entity that will be responsible for the administrative nature of SEF, will be under the supervision of the Deputy Minister and Parliamentary Affairs, Ana Catarina Mendes.