Portugal’s new Immigration Agency is operational now: Portugal’s new Integration, Migration and Asylum Agency (AIMA) has become operational. The AIMA follows on from a restructuring of the Portuguese border control system, which will now be based on separating law enforcement from administrative tasks pertaining to migration and asylum, which until then were under the Borders and Immigration Service (SEF).
Among other tasks, AIMA is charged with controlling the entry and stay of foreign citizens on Portuguese soil, grant stay extensions, residence permits, renew residence permits, residence cards, and permanent residence cards for relatives of European Union (EU) citizens who are nationals of a third country, permanent residence certificate for EU citizens, and residence permits for British citizens under Brexit.
The AIMA is beginning its operations with a total sum of 347,000 cases pending. One of the Agency’s top priorities is to substantially decrease this number, focusing especially on cases relating to family uniting. With this aim, a mega operation to recover pending cases will be launched in the first quarter of 2024, which will count on the engagement of the municipalities and local centres for assisting migrant integration, according to an official communique.
The Registries and Notaries Institute (IRN) is now the body charged with granting and issuing the passports for foreign citizens, combining all the scales of the Portuguese Electronic Passport: standard, special, temporary passports, and passports for foreign citizens. The IRN services will now also include attending to foreign citizens to renew their Residence Permit (temporary and permanent).
USCIS launches new online change of address tool: The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has launched a new Enterprise Change of Address (E-COA) self-service tool to allow customers with pending applications, petitions, or requests to update their address with USCIS more easily. E-COA will significantly improve the speed and efficiency of the process for USCIS customers to update their address with USCIS, according to a USCIS news release.
With E-COA, most individuals with a USCIS online account can update their mailing and physical address with USCIS for pending applications, petitions, or requests in a single place, eliminating the need to update the address in multiple places; fill out a paper AR-11, Alien’s Change of Address Card; call the Contact Center; or visit a USCIS Field or Asylum Office.
To use the E-COA tool, individuals need a USCIS online account, and must enter their last name, date of birth, and new physical and mailing addresses. Individuals are also encouraged to include information about their pending application, petition, or request. The E-COA tool is available in English only and can be accessed via a USCIS online account regardless of whether an individual’s pending case was submitted online or by mail. It is important to note that changing the address with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will not change your address with USCIS.
Customers who do not have any pending applications, petitions, or requests can use the tool to meet the requirement to notify USCIS if they have moved.
Hong Kong Immigration warns people of phone scams: The Immigration Department (ImmD) of Hong Kong has warned people about phone scams involving scammers posing as immigration officers. This warning follows reports of fraudsters having recently impersonated immigration officers to make calls to members of the public. During the conversation, the fraudsters offered call recipients the names, titles, contact means, office addresses, etc. of serving immigration officers for identity verification by visits to the concerned offices in person or by phone with a view to adding credibility to the scams.
The ImmD has issued a statement saying that its staff will call members of the public to process their applications with the ImmD based on individual circumstances. On the other hand, an ImmD spokesman reminded the public that the department has an appointment reminder service, and the department will not make any pre-recorded voice calls to members of the public who have not opted for the concerned service, nor will it transfer the calls to non-local authorities and then request the call recipients to provide personal information.
Members of the public must remain vigilant and cautious when receiving suspicious calls, and take the initiative to verify the identities of the callers instead of believing the callers hastily, or disclosing personal information arbitrarily, the ImmD statement read.
If in any doubt, contact officers of the ImmD by calling the ImmD’s enquiry hotline on 2824 6111 or sending an email to enquiry@immd.gov.hk. People can also make enquiries to and seek assistance from officers of the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre by calling the 24-hour police enquiry hotline: Anti-Scam Helpline 18222. Anyone suspecting a phone scam should immediately report it to the police, the ImmD has suggested.
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