Extinction of SEF. Meeting with the Secretary of State for Equality and Migration

The Deputy Ombudsman, Ravi Afonso Pereira, and the Coordinator of the Ombudsman’s Office, Catarina Ventura, met with the Secretary of State for Equality and Migration, Dr Isabel Almeida Rodrigues, with a view to discussing the role of the new Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) in taking on the responsibilities entrusted to the Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) in terms of migration and asylum, following the planned abolition of this body.

The Ombudsman has been closely monitoring the process of abolishing SEF and has already warned of the need for close liaison between SEF’s National Directorate and AIMA’s Board of Directors during the transition period, in order to avoid a break in the continuity of the public service. The results of the Ombudsman’s monitoring are contained in a thematic report, published on 20 July, which you can consult here [in Portuguese, only].