Lisbon, April 2, 2025 (Lusa) - The new model for the social mobility allowance granted to residents and students from the Azores and Madeira when travelling to the mainland and between the two regions comes into force on Thursday.
The law aims to create "a uniform and single legal regime" for the two autonomous regions, "with a view to simplification, efficiency and equal treatment between the regions".
Among the main changes is the reduction in the value of the maximum fares paid by beneficiaries of the subsidy, defined by decree, which comes into force on Thursday.
The creation of an electronic platform to speed up reimbursements and the creation of a financing mechanism so that passengers can resort to credit is also planned.
*** The social mobility allowance ***
Created in 2015, the social mobility subsidy allows residents, equivalent residents and students from the Azores and Madeira to travel for a maximum fare, stipulated by decree, to the mainland and between the two archipelagos.
The subsidy, provided by the state, aims to ensure social and territorial cohesion.
Beneficiaries must buy tickets at the sale price, and they can only request reimbursement at a post office after the journey has taken place.
Initially, reimbursement resulted from the difference between the eligible cost of the ticket (in economy class) and the maximum fare borne by the resident, with no ceilings. Still, in the meantime, limits have been set on the eligible cost of tickets at €400 in Madeira and €600 in the Azores.
In 2023, the social mobility allowance cost €126.2 million, of which €81.2 million was allocated to beneficiaries in the Azores and €45 million to beneficiaries in Madeira.
In July 2024, the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) chaired a working group to propose changes to the social mobility allowance.
*** The new fares ***
The maximum fares paid by residents and students in the Azores and Madeira under the social mobility subsidy will be reduced from Thursday.
For journeys between the Azores and the mainland, the maximum fare paid by residents is reduced from €134 to €119 and that paid by students from €99 to €89, with a limit of €600 on the eligible cost of the ticket.
On routes between Madeira and the mainland, the maximum fare for residents drops from €86 to €79 and for students from €65 to €59.
In this case, the limit on the eligible cost of tickets is €400 in Madeira and €500 in Porto Santo.
For journeys between the two archipelagos, the maximum fare for residents is reduced from €119 to €79 and for students from €89 to €59, with a maximum limit of €600 on the eligible cost of tickets.
The prime minister, Luís Montenegro, announced the reduction in maximum fares at the PSD/Azores regional congress in October 2024.
*** The new model for 2025 ***
One of the main changes envisaged in the new model is creating a "platform for managing beneficiaries and the reimbursement process", to "simplify, dematerialise and automate eligibility and reimbursement procedures", which will still have to await the publication of an ordinance.
In November, Miguel Pinto Luz, the minister for infrastructure and housing, said he expected the platform to be operational "by June 2025."
The electronic platform will also allow the refund request to be submitted immediately after the ticket purchase, before the flight takes place, avoiding trips to the post office.
The decree also provides that "a financing mechanism may be created, enabling the passenger to resort to a credit paid at 100% within a certain time".
Until the electronic platform is made available, the post office will continue to pay the subsidy, with the processing rules "previously in force".
*** The new eligibility requirements *** The new model for awarding the social mobility allowance revises the eligibility requirements for beneficiaries, "seeking to clarify and simplify the respective regime", in line with "concerns expressed regarding the eligibility of residents who are not Portuguese nationals".
The previous decrees defined the beneficiaries of the social mobility allowance as "citizens of Portuguese nationality or of another member state of the European Union or of any other state with which Portugal or the European Union [have] signed an agreement on the free movement of persons".
Family members of EU citizens who had "acquired the right of permanent residence in Portuguese territory" or citizens of any state with which Portugal had "signed an agreement on the general status of equal rights and duties between Portuguese citizens and third countries" could also be considered resident passengers.
Despite the requirements set out in the law, all immigrants living in the two autonomous regions had access to the social mobility allowance until November 2024, when third-country nationals were informed that they would no longer benefit from the reimbursement.
In January, parliament approved a proposal, which originated in the Azorean parliament, to cover all immigrants living in the autonomous regions.
The new decree-law clarifies that "citizens, regardless of their nationality or stateless persons, who have resided in an autonomous region for at least six months" are considered resident passengers.
The change in the concept of resident passenger came into effect on 1st November 2024.
*** The control mechanism ***
The new social mobility subsidy model creates "a control mechanism that aims to mitigate the possibility of fares being charged above the price practised by air carriers", to avoid "possible undue exploitation by some economic agents".
According to the decree, the General Inspectorate of Finance must "carry out selective checks concerning the carriers' price charged on these routes and the value contained in the corresponding invoices issued by the intermediaries, to cross-check the public subsidies claimed and paid to the beneficiaries".
Air carriers must inform the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) and the Mobility and Transport Authority (AMT) about the fare structure, fare distribution and "additional charges to the ticket price, namely the ticketing fee and the fuel surcharge".
Whenever they change them, they must "notify ANAC and AMT, respectively, 24 hours before the date of entry into force of the respective change".
*** Fraud ***
In April 2024, the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) charged 60 defendants in the Azores with qualified fraud and falsification of documents, amounting to €318,000.
In January of this year, 43 people and a company were charged with improperly withdrawing the social mobility allowance from the post office by forging plane tickets between Madeira and Lisbon, causing an estimated loss to the state of at least €529,000.
In the Azores, the Public Prosecutor's Office filed charges in March against 22 people and two companies for crimes of speculation, falsification of documents, fraud, money laundering and criminal association, also related to the social mobility allowance.
The case involves two travel agencies set up to sell tickets between the autonomous regions and the mainland at prices below market rates, is said to have damaged the state by more than €9.5 million.
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