The current wait time for pre approval is over 2 years. Youāll be fine traveling this summerā¦and probably next summer too, unless AIMA is more magical than henry potter.
Once they finish December 2021 (which must be imminent), thereās going to be a big 6 month jump, and then there were way fewer applications I understand. I think itās entirely possible (although probably not the most likely timeline) that the posterās children get their pre-approvals around summer time, 15-18 months.
Theres a gap but some lawyers say June and July were also busy as a result of the gap.
There has also been another application frenzy since June '22. Anonymous69 applied during this frenzy.
AIMA might have more applications backlogged now than when it was reported they had 7800.
1 Like
Specifically our kids applied. I have already had my card 1.5 years. (When I applied our youngest kid wasnāt even born yet).
My lawyer did suggest that AIMA might prioritize family reunification, e.g. cases like ours where the main applicant has their card but dependents are waiting.
Fingers crossed but I have stopped listening to optimistic hopes from PT lawyers 
1 Like
Finally completed my biometrics today in Lisbon ( yes, I know thatās the slow lane )
I submitted:
- Refreshed UK Police certificate, legalised & translated
- Passport all pages
- Boarding pass
- Certificate of no debt for social security or tax in PT
- UK national insurance number
No health insurance or extra documents requested, biometrics successfully taken.
Applied 7th December 2021
Pre-approved 21st November 2023
Biometrics 20th February 2024
Thanks for all advice received along the way.
8 Likes
congrats! letās call Lisbon the lane that hardly movesā¦
With the new law approved by the Constitutional Courts, going via Lisbon could save you the cost of a renewal.
3 Likes
lmao
babe, wake up, new golden visa strat just dropped
3 Likes
Iām planning to sue AIMA to force them not to consider my application for another couple of years
4 Likes
Iām wondering if March is open for appointments? Our main applicant is in Lisbon waiting for her biometrics on Monday but the rest of the family hadnāt got notified yet. Anyone in the same situation?
I had biometrics April, 23 and my husband, who applied/paid Jan 20, 22 still has not received his pre-approval!
We were initially told he would be approved within a couple of months of my biometrics, but a recent update from our attorney was that his application was submitted online, not possible to be lost, and that it should be approved once AIMA completed all December, 2021 applicants. Hopefully, you will hear something soon. 
2 Likes
I did my Biometrics at Lisbon on Jan 27,2023 and family havent got their pre-approval yet!
Thatās insane!
Hey all,
maybe someone can share the details of the biometrics preparation/booking process? My process was pre-approved about 1 month ago and the fields for selecting a date are still inactive on the ARI portal.
How does it all work? Does it make sense for me to call AIMA to book a slot? Should I receive some email notification from ARI by email? Will my lawyer also receive it if I added her email on the portal? Will these booking fields on the website become active at some point?
I also donāt understand how to get through to AIMA. Now it just constantly refers to the website. Maybe someone can advise.
I would appreciate any insights. Now I just check the portal every dayā¦
Most recently they were opening appointments quarterly, I believe.
1 Like
You will get an email inviting you to book biometrics when they open slots. Roughly every three months, read the threads for the dates the last time they opened, once they are almost finished with the current batch theyāll open again
Get your documents updated ahead of time
1 Like
Congratulations, when did you apply?
On Biometrics appountment, Your lawyer will receive an email on a window when the bookings will open.
1 Like
We applied on Dec 30th, 2021. Iāve already added my process to the timeline.
The biometric appointments were open for February, our main applicant did hers on the 26th. We heard nothing about March, perhaps no appointment is available this month.
1 Like