Same as you, our Jan 2023 biometrics are still waiting here for final approvalā¦
Have you filed a law suit?
No lawsuit, just waitingā¦ I think earlier last year is the best time for lawsuit, now it also takes quite a long queue.
Seems like a big group of us of late 2021 applicants with bios in Jan 23 just chomping to get some news. I donāt have access to the portal as itās with Mercan/IAS, and they just continually say, when we know something, weāll let you know.
Same here, Jan 2023 Biometrics in Lisbon and still waiting!
Yes, exact same situation. Iām guessing your application was submitted to the Lisbon SEF office? My application was accepted in late November 2021. I did biometrics in Lisbon on February 7 2023. My former attorneys filed a lawsuit in July 2024 demanding final approval, a judge accepted the lawsuit and issued some sort of summons to AIMA giving them an opportunity to respond prior to issuing a judgment against them, at which point AIMA scheduled a second (unnecessary) biometrics appointment for November 5, 2024, which was baffling because all my documents were up to date at the original appointment in February 2023. I even got a new apostilled FBI background check done just before the biometrics appointment in February 2023 and I sat with my lawyer and the AIMA representative and watched them go through everything, including proof that I still owned the house I bought before making my application in November 2021. I will never understand why final approval couldnāt be granted immediately following that, especially considering that in the case of most other types of residency applications (certainly the D7) the biometrics application is the final step. I donāt know what if anything AIMA responded to the court, I was never able to get clarity on that from my former attorneys. In any case I switched to another law firm because my former attorneys had so much turnover that I think I was on the fifth associate assigned to me. Anyway my new lawyer and I decided to keep the redundant appointment. We were kept waiting for 2 hours past the scheduled time and when finally admitted to the room with the AIMA agents were told that my file had been transferred to the Azores office (that very day) as part of a scheme to deal with the backlog of cases at the Lisbon office. We were assured that final approval would be forthcoming in a few weeks. Well of course nothing happened. In December I instructed my new attorneys to go ahead and petition the tax authorities to accept a NIF address change from my US address to that of the house in Albufeira that I had been spending just under 6 months per year in since buying it. They got my NIF address changed and got me into the NHR 1.0 tax regime before the deadline of 12/31/2024. My expectation was that I would eventually get notified of final approval and then a request for payment, and then following payment AIMA would order a card to be issued for me. However 10 days ago I got the following update from my attorney: āAfter our insistence, AIMA Azores called our phone number and explained that, relating to your case, they are just waiting for final instructions for the card to be sent. The card is already issued and all documents were approved, there are some final details to be arranged before the sending of the card, which they estimate to be around (and no more) than 30 days.
The card was issued with the address of your previous legal representatives because they follow what is in the first petition/ SEF (at the time) form, which had their address. We have formally requested AIMA Azores to send the card to our address and although they said they cannot guarantee that the delivery can be changed, they said they will try to change the sending process.
Nevertheless, we will contact your previous legal representatives so that they are vigilant of this and send us the card once ā and if ā they receive it.ā
Nothing about payment. WTF? And ANOTHER vague 30 day estimate 
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Same situation: 2021 application, Jan 2023 biometric. Nothing since.
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I know another person who did biometrics on 6 Feb 2023 just got final approval last week. I donāt know what happened to most of our Jan bios. But his lawyer said due to the online system problem, he is not able to create DUC payment right now.
I canāt comprehend this level of dysfunction and incompetence.
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Me tooā¦. Oct 21 paid application fee; Jan 23 bios at Lisbonā¦. Nothing since then!
Iām just wondering why they left us Jan 2023 bios behind, but to approve Feb and March firstā¦
When was your application submitted? Iām Oct 21ā¦
Oct 2021 also.
November 2021
When should the DUC payment take place?
After bios, your documents need to be approved. After this process you are required to pay DUC. There are many people are waiting more than 2 years for this approval.
Note that this year after January 15 this 3 steps process merged into one and the payment is required to be completed at bios.
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Hi @emailtoasifali - have you heard anything on your case yet? Just found out mine has been listed to Madeira too. I was Jan 31st 2023 bios in Lisbon. 
How did you find out it was moved to Madeira? My lawyers say they wonāt tell us?
Hi @heide.blunt, we share the same date and location. I havenāt heard anything yet, so Iāll follow up with the lawyers again next week for an update. According to them, the Lisbon office of AIMA has no control over Madeiraās approval processājust another classic case of bureaucracy.
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@Benjamin_Trotter, if your lawyers inquire about your file and maintain a good relationship with the authorities, they may be able to provide information on its current status and location. It appears that most January 2023 files from the Lisbon office have been transferred to Madeira.