“We are now entering the month of October with a great acceleration in relation to family reunification processes”, said Pedro Portugal Gaspar, in an interview with Lusa.

This type of process has not been transferred to the mission structure that is resolving pending processes and is “an area in which we will move forward”, with priority over processes related to changes of residence for investment.

The goal is to start “with an effective response capacity” of the services, expanding the availability of appointments to a “very high age range of minors”, close to 18 years old.

Immigrants with minor children will be able to register on the portal and request an appointment for family reunification, thus being able to bring their families, which will bring “some uncertainty about the number of people” to regularise.

It will be “an action to be developed with great emphasis and commitment on the part of AIMA”, he added.

Family reunification is something demanded by immigrant associations and is considered one of the most important factors for the integration of communities.

The presence of children in school and of spouses provides a situation of daily normality for those who are in Portugal, say several experts.