Key figures — as of 2026-09-25: 24-hour nationwide strike called for 6 October 2026 by the Sindicato dos Técnicos de Migração (STM) — covers every AIMA employee "independentemente do vínculo de emprego público, carreira, categoria, unidade orgânica ou local onde trabalham" — comes just four months after a four-day strike (1–5 June 2026) — AIMA issued 386,000 residence permits in 2025, a 60% rise on 2024, the figure officials cite as proof of progress.
A Second Walkout in Four Months
Staff at the Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo will down tools for a full day on 6 October, in what the union has confirmed as a nationwide, 24-hour stoppage. Workers at the beleaguered Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum will go on strike on October 6, in a nationwide stoppage called by the Migration Technicians' Union (STM). The strike notice, sent to AIMA management and the government on 24 September, will have national scope and, according to the notice, cover all workers exercising functions at AIMA, regardless of public employment link, career, category, organic unit or place of work.
This is not an isolated flashpoint. AIMA staff already staged a four-day walkout from 1 to 5 June 2026 over the same core grievance — the absence of a dedicated technical career for migration officers. The October date signals that whatever the government offered in response back then did not stick.
What Actually Triggered the Call
The immediate spark was procedural rather than purely financial. The decision comes after the union organisation requested an urgent meeting with the government following Pedro Portugal Gaspar's departure from the presidency of the agency – but got no reply, according to reporting picked up from Expresso. Gaspar's exit was itself a surprise: official documentation published as recently as September 17 identified him as president of AIMA's Board of Directors.
Layered on top is a pay-parity argument. The union points to a subsidy the Interior Ministry recently floated for police forces and argues migration technicians deserve equivalent recognition — though its leader is careful to frame it as a matter of professional status, not rivalry with security forces. As STM president Manuela Niza put it, "the enhanced recognition of the security forces is not at issue... What is at issue is the right of AIMA workers to professional recognition and pay compatible with the duties they perform." The union has asked for a specific career track covering "the creation of a specific technical career path for migration workers, which would recognise the specialised and permanent nature of the functions performed by the agency", alongside "additional remuneration appropriate to the specialisation and responsibility of the functions performed by the employees."
The Timing Problem
The strike lands awkwardly for an agency that has spent much of 2026 selling a turnaround story. Officials point to 386,000 residence permits issued in 2025 — a sharp jump on the prior year — as evidence the post-SEF backlog is finally under control, even as immigration lawyers and applicants report card-issuance gaps stretching well beyond official targets. A one-day national stoppage does not erase that progress, but it interrupts the daily rhythm of appointments, biometrics collection and card dispatch that AIMA has only recently stabilised — see our earlier look at the state of the AIMA backlog and appointment situation.
GrowIN analysis: based on AIMA's own throughput data — roughly 771,000 appointments completed by its Mission Structure between mid-2024 and December 2025, an average of close to 1,400 per working day — a single 24-hour national stoppage could plausibly displace somewhere in that order of appointments nationwide, pushing a comparable number of applicants into an already stretched rebooking queue. It is an estimate, not an official figure, but it illustrates why even a one-day strike matters at AIMA's current volume.
As GrowIN Portugal Editorial puts it: one lost day at AIMA rarely stays a single day for the applicant waiting behind it.
What Foreigners Should Do
If you have an appointment, biometrics slot or document collection booked for 6 October, do not assume it will proceed. AIMA has not yet confirmed contingency arrangements, and the union has said the strike could still be called off if the government responds to its request for talks before then — Niza told Lusa that outcome would depend on the results of any meeting. Check your status directly through AIMA's channels (https://aima.gov.pt) and, where relevant, via the online renewals portal at https://portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt rather than relying on third-party trackers.
For anyone mid-process on a D7, D8, Golden Visa or Startup Visa file, this is a reminder to build slack into your timeline — our visas hub covers realistic waits by permit type. If a missed appointment or stalled renewal is putting your legal status at risk, our immigration support services can help you escalate directly with the authority.
What to Watch Next
The key question is whether the Secretary of State for the Presidency and Immigration, Rui Armindo Freitas, agrees to the meeting the union has been requesting since before the summer. A concrete offer on the career-path issue could see the strike scaled back or cancelled; silence, on past form, has meant the stoppage goes ahead as planned. GrowIN Portugal will update this piece if the strike is confirmed, cancelled or extended closer to the date.