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AIMA is a malfunctioning organization with poor transparency and performance. People are left waiting for approvals, renewals, and family reunification for months, with no clear feedback or updates—only a vague “under analysis” status. A basic level of digitalization could solve many of these issues, such as using AI to preliminarily review uploaded documents and cases, leaving only the final decision to a human. This inefficiency is a serious barrier to attracting talent to the country.

In Review

Immigration

Portugal's immigration agency AIMA is terrible

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Portuguese people will absolutely bite your head off if you say anything negative about how they treat their dogs, and their lack of training. Expect dog shit in cities, no one picks it up. Dogs are left off leach often, even where they’re not allowed to be. Dogs will jump on you, owners expect you to accept that. Dogs are mostly badly trained, if at all, and have no recall skills. Owners will just keep shouting the dog’s name while the dog ignores them and harasses you. Lookup the balcony-dogs phenomenon, dogs are often neglected and end up barking the whole time for attention causing a lot of noise. Portuguese answers: “They’re dogs, they bark”

Dogs

Portugal's horrendous abusive dog culture, nation-wide

So Lisbon Airport proudly years ago installed automatic passport gates<img data-width="100%" data-align="left" data-featurebase-content-key="678a839ee3f8a852dbeee30e/post/6833a18047bc0b4b04f4dffd/019709ac-e715-7d86-9aff-7f4e1a682a7c/b64u-SU1HXzIxNzAuanBlZw.jpeg" data-featurebase-content-filename="IMG_2170.jpeg" src="https://678a839ee3f8a852dbeee30e.featurebase-attachments.com/c/post/6833a18047bc0b4b04f4dffd/019709ac-e715-7d86-9aff-7f4e1a682a7c/b64u-SU1HXzIxNzAuanBlZw.jpeg?X-Amz-Expires=3600&amp;X-Amz-Date=20260225T100000Z&amp;X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&amp;X-Amz-Credential=DO801TYC4FCVNNEKURKM%2F20260225%2Ffra1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&amp;X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&amp;X-Amz-Signature=654e25fed642a1cbc4b12a80a31d3cfcfd960adb7bf859ecd7b9f06f1cbcbe69">But literally every time I’ve flown there they’re either switched off or broken down.Meanwhile there’s crazy hours long passport lines for years too<img data-width="100%" data-align="left" data-featurebase-content-key="678a839ee3f8a852dbeee30e/post/6833a18047bc0b4b04f4dffd/019709ae-9a04-7138-9f51-9dd40ffd508f/b64u-SU1HXzIxNzIuanBlZw.jpeg" data-featurebase-content-filename="IMG_2172.jpeg" src="https://678a839ee3f8a852dbeee30e.featurebase-attachments.com/c/post/6833a18047bc0b4b04f4dffd/019709ae-9a04-7138-9f51-9dd40ffd508f/b64u-SU1HXzIxNzIuanBlZw.jpeg?X-Amz-Expires=3600&amp;X-Amz-Date=20260225T100000Z&amp;X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&amp;X-Amz-Credential=DO801TYC4FCVNNEKURKM%2F20260225%2Ffra1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&amp;X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&amp;X-Amz-Signature=00ad101d746f975e0951ac4889f641b7ca7b4cb13099a51b7342c7fb63df3d0b">How can you be so incompetent?

Infrastructure

Lisbon Airport automatic passport gates are never in operation

Portuguese here. My story isn’t much different from the rest. I left to finish my education, and worked abroad until last year when I decided to return, bring my girlfriend and start a business here. It has been a harrowing experience. Portugal suffers from a culture of favors and institutional corruption. Things don’t work, are slow, and money never ends up where it should. People who can afford it simply go private, and those who are lucky get favors, or what we call a “cunha”. It has been painful to return and see (both through my eyes and my foreign girlfriend) that you either know someone inside, or you won’t make it. Someone gets sick? Talk to a doctor you know about seeing you in-between patients or after hours. Need a document, visa or statement done? You’ll need to slug through contacts and networks until you find someone who knows someone who can push the file, or be lucky enough to live in a small town with friendly staff who can try to “arrange it” for you. Otherwise you wait, forever… Want to start a business here? That’s great, we have a ton of programs, both European and national you can benefit from, and are supposed to encourage entrepreneurship, but to actually get into one you better know someone inside who can review your application, otherwise it will get lost, forgotten or replied to after a few years. I myself have gone this way after failing to get a GP, failing to help my girlfriend get her visa, without which she can’t get a job here, failing to get replies from potential partners and grants for my business. The worst part is I know I’m feeding a terrible cycle, because for every check-up or exam I got, another patient was skipped. For every file I managed to get accepted, someone else’s got delayed. For every application I managed to get looked at, another went overlooked. I am trying to build something that encourages companies to invest here, and potentially solve part of this problem, but it’s impossible when our political, institutional and administrative classes are so out of touch with reality. They’re more concerned with making unrealistic decisions that look good on paper or pocketing public money. This website is a great idea, and with enough legitimate content and exposure, I hope it can actually make a difference.

Nepotism

Portugal only works by knowing someone who knows someone else

Moved to this 30k people town about a year ago. Registered in the Centro de Saúde with SS number, NIF, etc. I can’t book an appointment with a GP because there’s a shortage of them, so I’m in the queue, position 16k. More than half the town in the queue.If I need to see a doctor, I can choose from the following options:<ul><li>go to the Centro de Saúde to get a “senha” at 7am. The actual senha is handed out at 8:30, but since most people don’t have a GP, there’s a big queue every single day. The GP starts calling people in at around 11, so that’s a 4h wait, waking up at 6:30 am when you’re sick.</li><li>go to the Hospital. You’ll still wait for 2-4h and copay a minimum of €14, potentially more depending on what you need. If you need anything that’s not very generic, you’ll need to see a specialist, often requiring you to drive to Lisbon (2:30h each way).</li><li>go to a private clinic. Which would be fine if I wasn’t also paying OVER €1000 PER MONTH in Segurança Social.</li></ul>There’s also no pediatricians here, you need to drive 30m each way if you need one. My son should’ve had his 2 year checkup, and they literally told me there are no pediatricians, that I should return in 5 or 6 months and ask again in case they already found one.

Health care (SNS)

Portuguese public healthcare is useless

The cost of roads, housing, and public transport in Portugal is becoming unsustainable. How is it possible that in a country where the median salary is around €1,200, highway tolls are so expensive? For example, a round trip from Setúbal to Lisbon costs around €15 in tolls alone. Who sets these prices? It simply makes no sense for the average worker. And as if that weren’t enough, public transportation is in a disastrous state. There are constant delays, long queues, frequent metro cancellations, and ongoing strikes. For many people, commuting has become an exhausting and unpredictable experience.Portugal urgently needs systemic reform — including support for businesses so they can offer fair wages, and proper investment in public infrastructure and transportation. A country cannot thrive when basic daily needs are so difficult to meet.

Portuguese infrastructure is in a terrible state

Expats (cause they don't like to be called immigrants as they’re white) destroyed the real estate market, infest all the shoreside places like they're on vacation all the time, then complain no one works. They feel entitled to special things just because they are not native, and think they can avoid regulations that everyone must follow, like in every other place inside the European Union.

Expats everywhere complaining

Especially the area around Martim Moniz and Intendente starts to feel more and more insecure. Overload of eastern immigrants shooting drugs in public places.Plus wtf is up with all the minimarkets? Why is there 5 on every street? There is clearly something going on behind the scenes allowing people to get easy work contracts through these stores to enter the country.

Safety

Martim Moniz and Intendente neighborhoods in Lisbon have open-air hard drugs use

During the winter, almost every day a disgusting odor that gives you a headache and spreads throughout the streets of Setubal. The town hall and the police ignore the letters. This is a total disregard for the inhabitants of such a beautiful place and such a beautiful country. New cleaning systems should be installed in this factory, it is definitely not safe when many people have headaches because of the odor this factory emits. In the 21st century health should be a priority.

A pulp factory in Setúbal emits a disgusting odor

I have noticed so many examples of tax evasion, both by businesses and Portuguese citizens. People on sick leave for years receiving subsidies while working off the record so not paying any taxes. Businesses regularly asking you if you want a discount to pay in cash and not emit an invoice. Or saying that they don’t accept credit cards until you say you need an invoice for company reimbursements. Accountants helping small businesses to cheat the system. It’s all over the place, from individuals to politicians.

Я заметил очень много примеров уклонения от уплаты налогов, как со стороны бизнеса, так и со стороны португальских граждан. Люди, годами находящиеся на больничном, получают субсидии, работая неофициально и не платя никаких налогов. Предприятия регулярно спрашивают, хотите ли вы получить скидку, чтобы заплатить наличными и не выставлять счет-фактуру. Или говорят, что не принимают кредитные карты, пока вы не скажете, что вам нужен счет-фактура для возмещения расходов компании. Бухгалтеры помогают малым предприятиям обманывать систему. Это происходит повсеместно, от частных лиц до политиков.

Уклонение от уплаты налогов - национальный вид спорта в Португалии

Tax evasion is Portugal's national sport

One of the biggest issues with Portugal and why it’s so poor is that it has a negative business climate and that’s directly due to this:<img src="https://678a839ee3f8a852dbeee30e.featurebase-attachments.com/c/post/685c686a5a37502387202c30/0197a8f0-bdb5-7694-8b68-99bfacd168ba/b64u-MDE5N2E4ZjAtYmQwYy03ZjQ0LWFmYmEtOThiMjM3NTMxM2Q0.png?X-Amz-Expires=3600&amp;X-Amz-Date=20260225T100000Z&amp;X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&amp;X-Amz-Credential=DO801TYC4FCVNNEKURKM%2F20260225%2Ffra1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&amp;X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&amp;X-Amz-Signature=dce4d78d7e0ecb612e9e3274bed5a560e827d2908a6ece9c983bed97013af702" data-width="100%" data-align="left" alt="2024 Corporate Income Tax Rates in Europe | Tax Foundation" data-featurebase-content-key="678a839ee3f8a852dbeee30e/post/685c686a5a37502387202c30/0197a8f0-bdb5-7694-8b68-99bfacd168ba/b64u-MDE5N2E4ZjAtYmQwYy03ZjQ0LWFmYmEtOThiMjM3NTMxM2Q0.png" data-featurebase-content-filename="0197a8f0-bd0c-7f44-afba-98b2375313d4">Portugal has the highest corporate income tax rate in Europe at effectively 31.5%, comparatively Spain is 25%, similarly Netherlands is 25.8% and those are economies outperforming Portugal by far. One article in <a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="link" href="https://economicsobservatory.com/which-taxes-are-best-and-worst-for-growth">Economics Observatory</a> writes: <blockquote>Raising the income tax rate has by far the least negative effect on GDP. In the long run, the simulation shows that the economy pretty much returns to baseline levels, with a slight increase in potential output.</blockquote><blockquote>The opposite is true for corporation taxes. A rise in the corporation tax rate leads to a severe and negative initial fall in GDP. Potential output also decreases. This leads to lower productivity, higher inflationary pressures and deteriorating economic circumstances in the long run.</blockquote><blockquote>A rise in indirect taxes (such as VAT) does not affect GDP quite as badly as a rise in corporation taxes, but it does affect GDP more substantially than a rise in income taxes. Indirect taxes operate largely through the price channel, increasing the prices of goods. By artificially raising prices, demand is curtailed.</blockquote>Lowering Portugal’s corporate income tax rate to 15% to 20% would make it more competitive than Spain, France and Italy, while not making it a tax haven by any means.Portuguese would return to the country to start businesses, and the foreigners that are already here would move their companies here too.

Only in Portugal

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