AIMA authorized to spend 31.35 million on residence permits until 2027

The Council of Ministers has authorized the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum, I. P. (AIMA, I. P.) to assume multi-annual obligations and incur expenditure up to 31,350,668.47 euros, excluding VAT, for the acquisition of production and dispatch services for residence permits from the National Printing House-Mint, S. A. (INCM, S. A.). The decision is contained in the Council of Ministers Resolution no. 213/2026, published in the Diário da República no. 213, 1st series, dated November 3, 2026. The decree covers the production of documents for the year 2026 and the first half of 2027 and regularizes, with retroactive effect to December 26, 2024, services already materially provided.

The resolution frames the acquisition under the excluded contracting regime provided for in subparagraph a) of paragraph 4 of article 5 of the Public Contracts Code, approved by Decree-Law no. 18/2008, of January 29. The services covered are the production, issuance, personalization, enveloping, and dispatch of residence permits and other official security documents, described in the preamble as “indispensable for proving the legal status of the respective holders and for the exercise of the rights legally conferred upon them.”

The text acknowledges that the determined value is higher than what had been authorized in 2025 and that the expenditure then foreseen was not executed, which necessitated a new financial framework.

Maximum envelope of 31.35 million until the first half of 2027

The resolution sets a maximum global obligation of 31,350,668.47 euros, excluding VAT, distributed over two economic years. These are the annual limits:

• 2026 — 24,150,652.75 euros;
• 2027 — 7,200,015.72 euros, which may be increased by the budget balance determined in the previous year.

The decree further determines that the financial obligations resulting from the contract are met by funds registered and to be registered under funding source 513, relating to own revenue of the year from other origins, in the budgets of AIMA, I. P.

Regularization of 8.66 million since December 2024

The services effectively provided by INCM, S. A. at the request or with the acceptance of AIMA, I. P., between December 26, 2024, and December 31, 2025, without the corresponding financial execution, amount to 8,660,650.18 euros, excluding VAT.

This amount, determined after consolidation of verified consumption and validation of services provided, exceeds the 8,000,000.00 euros that AIMA, I. P. had been authorized to spend by Council of Ministers Resolution no. 151/2025, of October 8, associated with the permits resulting from processes handled by the Mission Structure for the Recovery of Pending Processes at AIMA.

To close the process, the Government validates “all acts performed in the meantime,” with retroactive effect to December 26, 2024.

Delegated competence in the Migration Government

The resolution delegates, with the power of sub-delegation, to the member of the Government responsible for the area of migration the competence to perform all acts necessary for the formation, conclusion, production of effects, and proper execution of the contract to be concluded.

The diploma takes effect from the date of its approval and was approved in the Council of Ministers on October 22, 2026, signed by Paulo Artur dos Santos de Castro de Campos Rangel, Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, substituting for the Prime Minister. The legal basis invoked includes Decree-Law no. 197/99, of June 8, Law no. 8/2012, of February 21, Decree-Law no. 127/2012, of June 21, and the Code of Administrative Procedure.

What changes for those waiting for a title

The authorization resolves the financial impasse that was hindering the invoicing of documents already issued and guarantees funds for production until mid-2027, in a context where the regularization of pending processes at AIMA, I. P. depends on the issuance capacity of INCM, S. A.. For the holders, the measure affects the document that proves the legal status in Portugal and the access to rights dependent upon it.

Source: Diário da República, no. 213, of November 3, 2026, 1st series (official reference: Council of Ministers Resolution no. 213/2026).