Foreigners and Borders Service

The Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras - SEF (English: Foreigners and Borders Service) is a police service integrated into the Ministry of Internal Affairs, whose mission is to enforce the immigration and asylum in Portugal, in accordance with the provisions of Constitution, law and government guidelines.

Among other duties, SEF is the agency responsible for the border control and the issuing residence permits to foreign nationals legally residing in Portugal.