Powers:  
 ·    Study and contribute to defining policy measures for the sector, proposing plans, programmes and projects in accordance with the objectives and priority action;

·    Execute the policy defined for the sector;

·    Promote, direct and accompany activities necessary for developing this policy;

·    Provide information on, aid and organise emigration application, returnee emigrant and immigrant processes;

·    Provide information on the region to emigrated communities, returnee emigrants and immigrants;

·    Promote, coordinate and develop emigration, return emigrant and immigration studies and regularly update them;

·    Analyse and accompany study projects on emigration and immigration;

·    Assess and make public study projects on emigration and immigration;

·    Grant financial incentives that encourage study projects and/or events to preserve cultural identity and social integration of emigrant/immigrant communities;

·    Support actions intended for integrating emigrants, returnee emigrants and immigrants;

·    Establish a connection between emigrants and their native land;

·    Contribute to strengthening language and cultural links that unite emigrants to their origins;

·    Ensure participation of people from the Azores living abroad and their descendants in actions related to DRC objectives and their own interest;

·    Promote forms of cooperation, aid and coordination with other public or private, national or international entities linked to emigration and/or immigration;

·    Draw up the annual plan and activity report;

·    Draw up proposals made by the sector regarding the budget, annual regional plan and medium-term guidelines;

·    Collaborate and participate alongside Portuguese language teaching schools in Azorean communities in order to preserve the language and culture of the Azores everywhere;

·    Propose and promote actions in the region and Azorean communities related to the preservation of cultural identity;

·    Support participation of the region in different organisations, conferences or meetings where emigration and/or immigration issues are directly or indirectly dealt with;

·    Make sure that the DRC's web page on the Regional Government's portal is maintained, in conjunction with the services of the Regional Secretary of the Presidency.

 Office for Emigration and Return (GER)

 ·    Provide technical advice to the Regional Director, supplying the analyses, information and all other instruments to said Director, that are required to define, coordinate and implement the work of DRC;

·    Promote, coordinate and develop studies;

·    Analyse and monitor study projects;

·    Assess and make public studies mentioned in the previous paragraphs;

·    Guarantee the operation of the information circuit between the region and the communities;

·    Supply information of general interest and/or frequently requested to emigrant communities;

·    Spread current information on the Azores to emigrants, their associations, social movements and political representatives, with a view to their specific needs;

·    Ensure public attendance on the islands of Faial, Pico, Flores and Corvo, providing information and advice and organising emigrant candidate processes;

·    Cooperate with other public or private, regional, national or foreign entities;

·    Organise and monitor visits to the region of people from communities, in close collaboration with the Community Cultural Exchange Office and the Office for Social Integration;

·    Monitor actions directed towards integrating returnee emigrants, in close collaboration with the Community Cultural Exchange Office and the Office for Social Integration;

·    Monitor courses, seminars, exhibitions and other cultural initiatives, in close collaboration with the Community Cultural Exchange Office and the Office for Social Integration;

·    Analyse and technically assess projects supported by the DRC;

·    Establish and coordinate contacts and documentary support for the media;

·    Locally support actions pledged to the Community Cultural Exchange Office and the Office for Social Integration;

·    Collaborate and participate alongside Portuguese language teaching schools in Azorean communities, in order to preserve the language and culture of the Azores everywhere;

·    Draw up technical reports, suggestions and activity reports;

·    Draw up the preliminary budget and annual regional plan, as well as medium-term guidelines, for fulfilling actions pledged to the Office for Emigration and Return;

·    Coordinate and support other actions pledged beforehand.

  Office for Immigration and Interculturality (GII)

 ·    Provide technical advice to the Regional Director, supplying the analyses, information and all other instruments to said Director, that are required to define, coordinate and implement the work of DRC;

·    Promote, coordinate and develop studies;

·    Analyse and monitor study projects;

·    Assess and make public studies mentioned in the previous paragraphs;

·    Guarantee the operation of the information circuit between the region and the communities;

·    Supply information of general interest and/or frequently requested to immigrant communities;

·    Spread current information on the Azores to immigrants, their associations, social movements and political representatives, with a view to their specific needs;

·    Ensure public attendance on the islands of Faial, Pico, Flores and Corvo, providing information and advice and organising immigrant processes;

·    Cooperate with other public or private, regional, national or foreign entities;

·    Organise and monitor visits to the region of people from communities, in close collaboration with the Community Cultural Exchange Office and the Office for Social Integration;

·    Monitor actions directed towards integrating immigrants, in close collaboration with the Community Cultural Exchange Office and the Office for Social Integration;

·    Monitor courses, seminars, exhibitions and other cultural initiatives, in close collaboration with the Community Cultural Exchange Office and the Office for Social Integration;

·    Analyse and technically assess projects supported by the DRC;

·    Establish and coordinate contacts and documentary support for the media;

·    Locally support actions pledged to the Community Cultural Exchange Office and the Office for Social Integration;

·    Draw up technical reports, suggestions and activity reports;

·    Draw up the preliminary budget and annual regional plan, as well as medium-term guidelines, for fulfilling actions pledged to the GII;

·    Coordinate and support other actions pledged beforehand.

 Community Cultural Exchange Office (GICC)

 ·    Coordinate courses, training, seminars, congresses, exhibitions, conferences and other cultural initiatives of the DRC;

·    Develop and coordinate cultural exchange programmes with the different communities of emigrants from the Azores and immigrants;

·    Study, propose and ensure the purchase of material for promoting the region in communities, including training, information, ethnics, literature, audiovisual among others;

·    Guarantee and update contacts with different cultural associations existing in the communities with a view to profiting from the support and means provided by the Regional Government of the Azores;

·    Monitor visits to the region of people from communities, in close collaboration with the GER, GII and GIS;

·    Issue reports and suggestions and carry out studies on all activities and cultural exchanges with emigrant communities from the Azores and immigrants;

·    Ensure public attendance on the islands of Terceira, São Jorge and Graciosa, providing information and advice and organising emigrant candidate, return emigrant and immigrant processes;

·    Translate work from the DRC from and into Portuguese;

·    Monitor actions directed towards integrating emigrants, returnee emigrants and immigrants in close collaboration with the GER, GII and GIS;

·    Locally support actions pledged to the GER, GII and GIS;

·    Collaborate in DRC actions with other public or private, regional, national or foreign entities linked to emigration and immigration;

·    Draw up activity and budget preview reports, as well as the annual regional plan and medium-term guidelines in order to fulfil actions pledged to the GICC;

·    Detect and report the needs encountered locally and draw up statistics, in close collaboration with the GER and GII;

·    Coordinate and support other actions pledged beforehand.

  Office for Social Integration (GIS)

 ·    Participate in groups, technical work teams, committees, advisory councils or other entities linked in some way to emigration and immigration social (re)integration of emigrants, returnee emigrants and immigrants;

·    Develop a set of actions aimed at fulfilling the objectives defined above for this (re)integration and respective monitoring;

·    Strengthen contacts and cooperate with communities and respective organisms with the objective of cooperating towards the (re)integration of emigrants, returnee emigrants and immigrants;

·    Issue reports and suggestions and study activities related to the GIS;

·    Ensure public attendance on the islands of São Miguel and Santa Maria, providing information and advice and organising emigrant candidate, return emigrant and immigrant processes;

·    Monitor visits to the region of people from communities, in close collaboration with the GER, GII and GICC;

·    Collaborate in DRC actions with other public or private, regional, national or foreign entities linked to emigration and immigration;

·    Draw up activity and budget preview reports, as well as the annual regional plan and medium-term guidelines in order to fulfil actions pledged to the GIS;

·    Detect and report the needs encountered locally and draw up statistics, in close collaboration with the GER and GII;

·    Locally support actions pledged to the GER, GII and GICC;

·    Coordinate and support other actions pledged beforehand.

  Information Section

 ·    Collect, analyse, treat and make public documentation and information necessary for DRC activities;

·    Organise and maintain up-to-date existing documentary files, or others, necessary for the smooth operation of the service;

·    Propose and arrange the purchase of books, magazines, newspapers and other technical documents of interest to the services;

·    Draw up the inventory and documentary and bibliographical record and keep it up-to-date;

·    Study and propose standards aimed at harmonising the classification of documents and respective preservation and destruction periods;

·    Organise and keep a historic archive and the current archive and provide technical support in this area for the remaining services;

·    Promote the organisation and arrangement of the historic archive and propose standard regulations for its consultation and use;

·    Study and propose the implementation of techniques to simplify, modernise and rationalise administrative circuits and procedures;

·    Organise and keep the general archive, legislation and all remaining documentation of the DRC entrusted to it, for easy consultation and permanent updating;

·    Give support, within the scope of its responsibilities, to all DRC services;

·    Carry out documentary research and processing on emigration and communities in accordance with the information sent by the GER;

·    Make public the subjects most relevant to emigration through using the appropriate means in accordance with the information sent by the GER;

·    Carry out documentary research and processing on immigration in accordance with the information sent by the GII;

·    Make public the subjects most relevant to immigration through using the appropriate means in accordance with the information sent by the GII;

·    Guarantee and update contacts with different cultural associations existing in the communities with a view to profiting from the support and means provided by the Regional Government of the Azores n accordance with the information sent by the GICC;

·    Accompany courses, training, exhibitions and other cultural initiatives, in close collaboration with the GER, GII, GICC and GIS;

·    Coordinate the needs to improve the skills of DRC staff and train them, and publicise training actions, courses and seminars to be carried out in all departments of the DRC;

·    Exercise other functions that may be attributed to it by law or by its superiors.

 Constitutional Documents: 

Regional Implementing Decree no. 38-A/2004/A: It approves the organisational structure of the 9th Regional Government of the Azores.

Regional Implementing Decree no. 19/2006/A: It amends the organisational structure of the 9th Regional Government of the Azores.

Regional Implementing Decree no. 19/2006/A of 6 April: It approves the organisational structure of the Regional Directorate for Communities.