According to Portal da Queixa, delays in obtaining documents, difficulty in contacting the body and problems with the SEF online platform, are the main complaints, making SEF one of the services most complained about by MAI.

At a time when new dates have already been announced for the strike by inspectors from the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) at Lisbon, Porto, Faro and Madeira airports – for the end of May and June -, Portal da Queixa carried out analysis to assess citizens' satisfaction with the organisation.

Since the beginning of the year, and until the 22nd of May, 1,357 complaints were registered on the Portal da Queixa, an increase of around 363% compared to the same period last year. According to the analysis, between the months of February and March 2023, the volume of complaints addressed to SEF registered a significant increase of 1,565‰, with 49 complaints in February and 816 registered in March.

Among the main reasons for complaints is the delay in the process of obtaining documents (urgent requests), generating 740 complaints between January 1st and May 22nd, an increase of 422% compared to the same period last year.

The SEF page on the Portal da Queixa shows the level of consumer dissatisfaction with the service, as it has a Satisfaction Index scored at 18.2 out of 100, registers a response rate of 14.1% and a solution rate of 15.2%. These indicators reflect the body's poor performance in responding to and resolving problems that are reported.

“Inevitably, the lack of response from SEF to complaints generates a negative reputation for the service, even with the Portal da Queixa offering – under our Social Responsibility project - all its functionalities free of charge to public entities, in order to promote confidence in public services”, stresses Pedro Lourenço, founder of Portal da Queixa.