@Ps5 - I received an email today from our attorney for my dependent, submitted mid-January, 2022. No lawsuit filed and no updated documents submitted as yet; still awaiting apostilled Criminal Record from Washington, DC.
His appointment is April 9th in Lisbon. So grateful to our attorneys and their persistence, also grateful we didn’t have to file.
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We just did our biometrics under the new process (all docs legalized / apostilled and translated and re submitted ). Paid the €6K /person fee at the time of biometrics. We forwarded the money to our lawyers and they made payment.
Actual process on the day at AIMA was smooth , morning appointment so took only about an hour. Lawyers (VCA) handled all the talking and we just did the prints /pic
We had sued to get an appointment so already had one in place
Application : end Oct 22
Lawsuit won on appeal (Oct 24) which resulted in biometrics appointment in late January
Biometrics complete Jan 25 in Lisbon.
We shall see how long it takes to get cards under the new process , see you all on stage 4 !
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Wow they asked you to pay DUC at the time of appointment?! Should I have hope that it will be processed very fast?
Yes that is the new process. They claim they will do it within 90 days (new process ) because they have checked the documents. Fingers crossed. 
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I’ve done a search and haven’t really found the answer. At the biometrics appointment, you are required to pay the 6k fee by debit card. Has anyone successfully paid using a US issued debit card?
Another member was able to pay via PT debit card and Chinese issued credit card. I don’t believe anyone has posted about US based cards.
Best way to pay it is forward money to your lawyer, and have them pay it. One less thing that can go wrong
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Has anyone received their biometrics appointment recently? My application was approved 06/06/2024… been patiently awaiting but no word yet 
I resubmitted all my documents yesterday and my lawyer uploaded them. She said this in her email-
“With that said, please note that we haven´t received notifications with appointments yet for the applications resubmitted in the last three weeks. Moreover, AIMA is adopting this procedure for all Golden Visa processes in the country, and we cannot guarantee that they will be able to schedule biometrics for all Main applications and family members in the first half of 2025.”
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Just received this from my attorney: “Following recent updates, the amounts and methods for paying the fees to the Immigration Authorities applicable to the administrative procedures were revised in March 2025.
The amount corresponding to the fee for granting the Golden Visa card has been adjusted and is now set at €8.060,20 for each residence permit.
Within the scope of this update, the time and method of payment of these fees must be made at the time of the appointment for the collection of biometric data which formalizes the start of the administrative procedure for issuing the residence permit.
For greater speed and security, payment can only be made by card with immediate debit or credit capability, and the main international networks (Visa, Mastercard, or equivalent) are accepted.”
My husband and I will be using our credit card to pay the fees and from what I understand, there is no issue with US based cards. However, I will update the forum after the last biometric appointment mid-April.
Unfortunately, the fees are now €2k more per person. Thankfully, we applied late December, 2021 so hopefully, we only pay this fee one time.
@heidieckard Thanks Yardley for the information about the increase in the cost (as unwelcome as it is).
Can you pay by credit card? I thought only debit was accepted because of the lower fees, but I’d be very happy to be wrong.
You are most welcome @mwwilliams10! After I posted about the increase, a member of NomadGate informed me that my husband and I would receive a 25% discount for a fee of €6045. Hopefully, he’s correct, but will not confidently know for a few weeks.
With regard to paying by credit card. The attorney told us to bring Visa, MC, along with ensuring we had ample deposits in our Portuguese bank account.
As soon as the fees are paid, post appointment, I will happily update the forum and provide any insight into the current process.
The fee was € 6179.40 each at our biometrics on March 13. We paid with our Novobanco debit card. We had to do separate transactions for the two of us.
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Do you only choose a debit card or you have to choose a debit card cuz a credit card is denied?
I visited a NovoBanco branch 2 days before to verify that the debit cards would work at the biometric appointment. I did not want any problems at time of payment as I could be confident that a Portuguese card would definitely work! The money for the fee had been sitting in the account for the last 2 years based on advice from our lawyer since biometrics appointments are unpredictable!
That’s great to hear…thank you for the confirmation!
8000€??? Does that apply to renewal too?
Unfortunately, I don’t have that information as this will be our first residency card, but if I were to speculate - highly doubtful it’s that high for renewals.
It’s not 8XXX, it’s 6XXX - a discount is applied to all. Renewals are 3XXX.
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Just wanted to send a quick update post appointment last week.
My husband has his pre-approval, biometrics, and final approval at the same appointment.
By that I mean, that he was not approved per the website, but our attorney was able to secure an appointment for April 9th at 14:30.
My husband is my dependent as it pertains to the application, so all I needed was my final approval from biometrics April, 2023.
My husband completed his biometrics and then we both paid €6179.40. I had to pay mine with a Portuguese bank, but was able to pay his with our (US bank) Marriott Visa.
Our attorney said that it would take about 2 months before we receive our first residency card which is valid for 2 years.
Hope this helps anyone looking for more info.
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