As stated by Luís Goes Pinheiro, president of AIMA, the objective is to expeditiously settle the outstanding cases. It will not be able to reply to every application in a shorter amount of time, though, due to the sheer number that have been submitted thus far, according to EU Helpers.

Goes Pinheiro emphasized further that after resolving every case, they only plan to handle "daily demand" in order to prevent building up an application backlog.

Goes Pinheiro stated that numerous steps must be followed in order to address the pending residency petitions, as the Portugal News reports. Adding more employees to handle these applications is one of the most crucial.

Additionally, new equipment is urgently needed so that applications can be recorded more quickly and that the appropriate authorities can provide documents without difficulty.

According to Portugal News, unions and immigrant associations criticized the Foreigners and Borders Service, which was previously in charge of handling these applications, for its fundamental IT issues.

AIMA believes that investing in the replacement of technology equipment and other infrastructure is crucial for this reason.

For the time being, Goes Pinheiro emphasized that the agency's goal is to identify ways to assist people seeking for residency permits or renewals in the most effective manner while also responding to the volume of information received.

According to AIMA, the goal is to handle applications from those who have filed for family reunification and regularize their condition by the end of this year, even if there are still a lot of instances that need to be settled.

Additionally, according to AIMA, more service stations will be added to enable candidates to apply for and be granted a residence permit more quickly and conveniently.