The agreement, also known as the "green lane" for migration, provides for the regulated hiring of foreign workers through the five employers' confederations that signed the protocol.

"The outcome is positive, and the protocol is making progress," after being signed four months ago, said Pedro Portugal Gaspar, speaking to Lusa.

The president of AIMA explained that he has met with the Portuguese Farmers' Confederation to discuss the protocol, concluding that there are "around 800 visa situations already regularised, at the intersection of supply and demand" for employment, "within a regulated migration framework."

In addition to the five confederations that signed the program, 19 other large business groups have joined, a sign of entrepreneurial support, Pedro Portugal Gaspar emphasized.

Small businesses will be able to submit hiring requests through their respective sector confederations, and will be required to provide Portuguese language instruction, professional training, and housing for new employees.

The official added that this process "is beginning to gain some quantitative significance," and the regulatory agency's goal is for a large portion of foreign entry to be handled through this mechanism.

"Right now, we are still regularizing many pending processes, but the system is moving towards this path having increasing relevance," stated Pedro Portugal Gaspar, who will be heard in parliament as part of the debate on the new nationality law.

"We cannot confuse the nationality law with a mechanism for regulating migration matters," the official emphasized, demonstrating AIMA's willingness to work with "existing legal instruments."

During the last year, AIMA increased its human resources by 9.1%, also a sign of the organization's increased attractiveness.

This reinforcement was made "without any differentiating measures, that is, without obtaining any additional supplements to allocate to employees," nor any external reinforcement of staff, he concluded.