The Minister for the Presidency and the Minister for Youth and Modernisation announced a set of measures to simplify and streamline the relationship between Citizens and Companies with the Public Administration.

Among the 15 measures announced is the possibility of assigning all identification numbers (NIF, NNU and NISS) at once to foreign citizens who hold a residence permit, are EU nationals resident in Portugal, or are applicants for international protection (including asylum seekers and subsidiary protection), as well as refugees and beneficiaries of international protection. This measure aims to reduce the time and costs associated with obtaining sector-specific identifiers.

By the fourth quarter of 2024, a new in-person service will be implemented in the 893 existing Citizen Spaces, where immigrants can request all necessary identification numbers at once.

Additionally, a virtual assistant will be made available on the gov.pt portal, with multilingual capability, to guide foreign citizens in their interaction with public services, ensuring greater accessibility and efficiency in the process.

This initiative comes in response to the existence of hundreds of thousands of pending residency regularization processes in Portugal, and aims to alleviate long queues in face-to-face appointments, easing the pressure on entities and their workers.

Written by Sofia Rebelo, lawyer in the Private Clients Department