Author
Responsibility for reception
Since 29 October 2023, the primary responsibility for the provision of material provisions is assigned to the Ministry in charge of Migration.[1] Nevertheless, the responsibility for the provision of material reception conditions to asylum applicants who pass the admissibility procedure and are in the regular procedure lies with the Ministry of Employment, Solidarity and Social Security.[2] The authorities can cooperate with other public entities and/or private non-profit organisations within the framework of a MoU to ensure the provision of such services.[3]
In the past, the practical framework for the reception of asylum applicants in Portugal stemmed from bilateral MoUs,[4] the resolution of the Council of Ministers no. 103/2020 of 23 November 2020, establishing a single system of reception and integration of applicants for and beneficiaries of international protection, and the internal regulations of the Single Operative Group (SOG) it created.[5]
According to the Resolution, the main features of the single system of reception and integration were as follows:
- The system covered all applicants and beneficiaries of international protection, including unaccompanied children, resettled refugees, and relocated asylum applicants;
- A Single Operative Group (SOG) was established. The SOG had a restricted and an extended line-up;
- The restricted line-up of the SOG ensured its coordination and was composed by ACM, SEF and ISS;
- The extended line-up of the SOG developed technical and operational tasks. In addition to ACM, SEF and ISS it included: the Directorate General for Higher Education (DGES), DGEstE, Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth (IPDJ), IEFP, ANQEP, SCML, ACSS, DGS, and IHRU. The resolution further established that other entities with competences in the fields of reception and integration, namely CPR, were part of this line up.
- ACM was responsible for organising periodic meetings (at least one every month), providing logistical and administrative support, and preparing the regulation of the SOG;
- The resolution further detailed the responsibilities of ACM, SEF and ISS within the context of the SOG;
- The SOG was established for 5 years with possibility of extension. Instruments concerning reception and integration of applicants for and beneficiaries of international protection in force must be adjusted to the provisions of the resolution.
Within the framework of the SOG, three subgroups were created to handle operational matters: the social monitoring subgroup, the unaccompanied children subgroup, and the programmed arrivals subgroup.[6]
The social monitoring subgroup of the SOG was the structure for referral and follow up on the provision of reception conditions to spontaneous asylum applicants. Before, the group was composed of ACM, SEF (both replaced by AIMA), CPR, ISS, and SCML, and met twice a month. The extended line-up of the SOG used to meet once a month. The process of termination of the activity of SEF and ACM led to the suspension of the activity of the SOG,[7] with the exception of the social monitoring sub-group, which continues to meet, but bilaterally.
Following the termination of SEF and the beginning of AIMA’s operations, some changes occurred to the practical arrangements in place for the provision of material reception conditions to asylum applicants.[8] Since the last quarter of 2023 CPR has been unable to ensure the provision of accommodation to all spontaneous asylum applicants as per previous practice both due to the lack of further capacity of infra-structures, and to the lack of funding to that effect.[9] AIMA confirmed that the transition between financial frameworks created constraints but affirmed that such constraints had been overcome by June 2024.[10]
Hence, despite institutional changes and some lack of operational clarity, in practice the following entities were competent to provide reception conditions to spontaneous applicants, depending on the type and stage of the procedure and/or the profile of the applicant:
- The Institute for Social Security (ISS) provided material receptions conditions to asylum applicants in the regular procedure;
- Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML) assisted asylum applicants who have submitted an appeal against a Dublin decision or a first instance decision (with the exception of a first instance decision in the regular procedure) as well as certain categories of asylum applicants in the regular procedure (e.g., vulnerable cases such as unaccompanied children initially accommodated at CACR that move into assisted apartments and former unaccompanied children initially accommodated at CACR; or individuals and families with strong social networks in the Lisbon area);
- The Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) provides accommodation to asylum applicants in the admissibility (including Dublin) and accelerated procedures in national territory, under the competencies assigned by the Asylum Act to the Ministry in charge of Migration, through its Reception Management Unit[11]. AIMA does not have its own reception facilities and cooperates with other entities within the framework of a MoU/contract service to ensure the provision of accommodation;
- While the Asylum Act determines that the Ministry in charge of migration is responsible for the provision of material reception conditions to applicants detained at the border,[12] the Public Security Police (PSP) manages the provision of material reception conditions within the context of border procedures and procedures in detention following a removal order (see Conditions in Detention Facilities) due to the transfer of competences previously assigned to SEF. PSP is a police authority under the Ministry of Home Affairs.[13]
Until beyond the first half of 2024, AIMA provided accommodation directly through the youth hostel network (Movijovem – Pousadas da Juventude). According to AIMA, this was a contingency plan. In the second semester of 2024, AIMA expanded the reception capacity and signed MoUs and contract services with new reception entities in addition to CPR: Adolescere, Convento Balsamão, JRS, and Together International.
The right to reception and sufficient resources
The law provides for the right of asylum applicants to material reception conditions regardless of the procedure they are in,[14] with the exception of a possible withdrawal or reduction of those conditions in the case of ‘unjustified’ subsequent applications.[15]
Asylum applicants are entitled to support from the moment they apply for asylum,[16] and until a final decision is reached on their asylum application,[17] without prejudice to: (i) the suspensive effect of appeals,[18] and (ii) the provision of material reception conditions beyond the final rejection in case of ongoing need for support on the basis of an individual assessment of the applicant’s social and financial circumstances.[19]
Only asylum applicants who lack resources are entitled to material reception conditions.[20] The law provides for criteria to assess the sufficiency of resources that consist in either the lack thereof or a level of financial resources which is inferior to the ‘social support allowance’.[21] While until 2023, ISS has interpreted this provision as referring to the social pension (pensão social),[22] the practice changed from 2023 on. As such, the provision has been interpreted as referring to a reference value of the Social Support Reference Index (Indexante de Apoios Sociais, IAS).[23] According to the information provided by ISS, the reference value has been updated every year.
According to ISS, cases are reassessed every three months and the provision of material reception conditions is maintained where indicators of a lack of resources subsist.
Asylum applicants can be requested to contribute,[24] or reimburse,[25] partly or in full, the cost of material reception conditions and health care depending on the level and the point in time when the authorities become aware of their financial resources. However, neither the law nor administrative guidelines specify at what point the asylum applicant is required to declare any financial resources they might have.
In previous years, and despite practical challenges and concerns, spontaneous asylum applicants did not face systematic obstacles in gaining access to available material reception conditions (e.g., due to delays in the issuance of the individual certificate of the asylum application or a strict assessment of resources).
Since late 2023, AIMA has been directly providing accommodation to asylum applicants in the admissibility (including Dublin) and accelerated procedures under the competencies assigned by the Asylum Act to the Ministry in charge of Migration.[26]
In 2024, CPR has received consistent reports of people who faced challenges in presenting asylum applications across the country and were moreover not referred to reception solutions. There have also been reports of a lack of information and social support and/or reception solutions even after an asylum application has been lodged.
Until the end of the first semester of 2024, CPR has received consistent reports of significant issues impacting asylum applicants who are provided accommodation directly by AIMA, namely: lack of information, isolation, lack of means to access AIMA’s services, lack of access to material reception conditions (including food), instances of withdrawal of accommodation immediately following notification of a negative decision (in violation of the applicable legal framework), frequent and often unannounced changes of place of accommodation, and lack of response to specific needs (including access to health care). This happened in particular when AIMA provided accommodation through the youth hostel network (Movijovem – Pousadas da Juventude). AIMA denied this occurred.[27]
Access to CPR’s Refugee Reception Centre (Centro de Acolhimento para Refugiados, CAR) that accommodates isolated adults and families is dependent on written referral from AIMA-CNAR. The same stands for the provision of material conditions such as financial assistance by CPR to asylum applicants who have opted for private housing with relatives.
CPR does not proactively engage in means assessments for the duration of the provision of material reception conditions given that access to paid employment is, in practice, limited at this stage. Nonetheless, if the applicant has an employment contract, the termination of this provision may be negotiated.
Following admission to the regular procedure, or if the application is deemed inadmissible or is rejected in an accelerated procedure,[28] the asylum applicant is referred by CPR to the Single Operative Group (SOG) through its social monitoring subgroup. The SOG decides on the provision of material reception conditions in the regular procedure (by ISS), or at appeal stage (by SCML), based on an individual report that includes information on the socio-economic circumstances of the individual. Given that asylum applicants admitted to the regular procedure are often unemployed, and lack financial resources, it is not common to cease the provision of material reception conditions at this point.
CPR ensures accommodation until ISS or SCML take over and asylum applicants only leave its facilities when alternative accommodation is secured.
Upon release from detention, asylum applicants may face challenges in accessing reception conditions as AIMA claims not being responsible for reception of applicants already notified of a decision on admissibility, inadmissibility or rejection in an accelerated procedure. It should be noted that, at this stage, the cases have not yet been referred to the ISS and/or SCML in the context of the social monitoring subgroup of the SOG. According to PSP, applicants are advised to contact AIMA and ISS to request support upon release. On some occasions, PSP has to take action to identify solutions, namely by contacting the social emergency line (144).
As for unaccompanied children, PSP refers the case to the Family and Juvenile Court. ISS later identifies a reception facility, such as CPR’s CACR, according to the court order.
CPR is aware that in some cases in 2024 the release from detention was delayed due to the lack of reception responses on national territory.
[1] This includes admissibility procedures (including Dublin procedures); accelerated procedures, border procedures, subsequent applications and applications following a removal decision: Article 61(1) Asylum Act. As previously mentioned, until the end of 2023 migration was part of the portfolio of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
[2] Article 61(2) Asylum Act.
[3] Article 61(1) and (2) in fine Asylum Act.
[4] Notably MoUs between the Ministry of Home Affairs / SEF and CPR, between ISS and CPR, and between the ISS and Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML).
[5] Resolution of the Council of Ministers no. 103/2020 of 23 November 2020, available here.
[6] In 2022, a new SOG sub-group was created in order to address the area of vulnerabilities within the asylum system. The group was composed by ACM, CPR, ISS, SCML, SEF, and UNHCR. According to the information provided by UNHCR, the group has not been resumed in 2024.
[7] The last meeting of the extended line-up of the SOG took place on 20 September 2023.
[8] For further information regarding the previous framework, please see previous AIDA reports available here.
[9] On the one hand, there were significant delays in the provision of AMIF funding at national level, on the other since the beginning of its operations AIMA publicly stated that it wanted to evaluate the provision of services by the organisation before renewing any cooperation frameworks. While AIMA and CPR signed a contract for the provision of accommodation for a limited number of asylum applicants in January 2024, this did not ensure the payment of services previously ensured by the organisation and did not provide sufficient resources for CPR to continue ensuring the usual reception model. In fact, by the end of the 2023 and 2024 the organisation often faced financial constraints leading to delays in the payment of financial allowances to asylum applicants and salaries to employees. See, for instance: Público, Conselho Português para os Refugiados confirma salários e verbas em atraso, 8 January 2024, availble here.
[10] Information provided by AIMA on 25 June 2024. Nevertheless, CPR was still experiencing the aforementioned repercussions at the beginning of 2025.
[11] Article 61(1) Asylum Act.
[12] Article 61(1) Asylum Act.
[13] PSP’s competencies at the border were used by AIMA in public statements to reject any responsibility for the situation of asylum applicants detained at the border, a position hardly compatible with the provisions of the Asylum Act. See, for instance: Rádio Renascença, “Há pouco que a AIMA possa fazer” pelos migrantes que dormem no aeroporto, 25 January 2024, available here.
[14] Articles 51(1) and 56(1)-(2) Asylum Act.
[15] Article 60(3)(f) Asylum Act. The reference to an “unjustified subsequent application” seems to indicate that the potential withdrawal or reduction would only occur at the end of the 10-day admissibility/preliminary assessment as per Article 33(4). According to the information available to CPR, such possibility was not enforced in the past, as SEF referred subsequent applicants in need of housing to the relevant entities. AIMA’s practice in this regard is not yet clear.
[16] Articles 51(1), 56(1) and 2(1)(ae) Asylum Act that entitle third-country nationals or stateless persons who have “presented” an asylum application to material reception conditions. The presentation of the asylum application is to be understood as preceding the registration of the asylum claim under Article 13(1) and (7) Asylum Act.
[17] Article 60(1) Asylum Act.
[18] Articles 60(1) in fine and 30(1) Asylum Act.
[19] Article 60(2) Asylum Act.
[20] Articles 51(1) and 56(1) Asylum Act.
[21] Article 56(3) Asylum Act.
[22] Decree-Law no. 464/80. According to the referred Decree-Law, the social pension is measure of solidarity to offer social protection to the most vulnerable populations. It is provided, among others, to nationals, who are not entitled to a pension from the contributory social security system who lack any revenue or whose revenue is below the value of the social pension (Article 1).
[23] Act no.53-B/2006, of 29 December as amended.
[24] Article 56(4) Asylum Act.
[25] Article 56(5) Asylum Act.
[26] Article 61(1) Asylum Act.
[27] Within the context of the right of reply of the authorities to the 2023 draft AIDA report, AIMA noted that all asylum applicants are informed of the available accommodation and its conditions, and that all asylum applicants were offered accommodation. It has also noted that asylum applicants are duly informed of changes to their accommodation arrangements, and that applicants are referred to healthcare authorities. AIMA did not provide further information regarding the procedures and criteria for withdrawal of accommodation. Information provided by AIMA, 25 June 2024.
[28] This includes rejected asylum applicants released from the border after the expiry of the 60-day time limit (see Duration of Detention).