Representatives of the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) and the National Council for Migration and Asylum (CNMA) have backed draft legislation aimed at regulating the status of stateless persons in Portugal, describing the proposed mechanism as robust and resistant to fraud.

Speaking before a parliamentary committee, AIMA President Pedro Portugal Gaspar and CNMA President António Vitorino stressed the need to implement provisions of a 2023 law that has yet to enter into force. The initiative enjoys support from most parliamentary parties, while the Chega party opposes it, citing concerns over potential fraud and the difficulties of verifying documents.

All proposals under consideration provide for a procedure to recognize stateless status through an individual assessment of each case and in compliance with international agreements. For people trapped in a legal vacuum without any nationality, such recognition could become the first step toward acquiring Portuguese citizenship.