The latest annual activity report from the Ombudsman, presented today in Parliament, reveals that Maria Lúcia Amaral, now the Minister of Internal Administration, received 9,087 complaints last year. Of these, 25.7% related to Social Security, 14.6% concerned the entry and residency of foreigners, and 8.3% addressed work issues.
Out of the total complaints, 6,505 underwent preliminary assessments, and 2,582 were formally examined, with the same three issues being the most prevalent among the latter group.
Among the 483 complaints about Social Security that were examined, 145 concerned old-age pensions (early, unified, and others), 89 related to contributions, dues, debts, and refunds, and 65 dealt with disability, dependency, and incapacity.
In the domain of the entry and residency of foreigners, the 346 complaints addressed included 82 regarding residence permits without a visa, 74 on the renewal of residence permits, and 73 on international protection.
For work-related complaints, the leading categories among the 301 examined were recruitment and remuneration, each with 48 cases, followed by career issues with 36 cases.
In 2023, the most common issues among examined complaints were related to Social Security (27%), the entry and residency of foreigners (8%), and traffic (7%).
The report indicates a reduction of 1,554 complaints in 2024 compared to the previous year, when 10,641 complaints were received, marking the lowest number since 2019.
Comparatively, 11,647 complaints were received in 2019; 14,466 in 2020; 15,469 in 2021; and 12,943 in 2022.
The comparative data is adjusted to account for a new system for handling complaints introduced in 2022.
The report was finalized “in the special circumstance of the vacancy of the Ombudsman’s position,” as Maria Lúcia Amaral assumed her ministerial role in June.
