Did your family got final approval in Madiera yet? Since some of us Jan 2023 bios have been sent to Madiera office…
Nope.
My lawyers said that unless I get final approval (as principal applicant; Lisbon 2023 bio), their approval will not come, even if their paperwork is done.
I Did my Bio-metric in Lisbon on January 2023. My lawyer emailed me that AIMA asked copy of my New passport. I submitted copy of my New passport on 12th February 2025. The wait continues and no news till date.
I had exact same experience of being asked for copy of my new passport by SEF Lisbon in early May 2022. It took ~3-4 week to receive final approval after I submit the copy. I guess your final approval shall be any time from now.
Thanks! hope I receive it 
What was your exact date of biometrics in January?
26th January 2023.
I’m Jan 23rd! Still waiting 
Those were the good old days… Now, my wife is in the same boat as @chetiansunny: copy of new passport submitted six weeks ago, and nothing since! My card has not arrived either, almost two months since the final approval.
It feels like everything has come to a standstill. There was a time when approvals were granted within two years of the biometric date, but now there’s no clear pattern. The uncertainty is endless, and even lawyers have no answers.
I paid my Final Approval DUC at the end of January. However, my lawyer hasn’t received my card yet. How long does it take from Payment to Card though? It seems very slow.
Anywhere from 2 weeks to 4+ months.
What’s hardest for me is seeing so many people with application submissions AFTER me and biometrics AFTER me receiving approvals. At least there are still some Jan bios still waiting like me, but that’s the most frustrating part for me is how out of chronological order they go.
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I completely understand your frustration. Seeing others who applied and completed biometrics after you getting approvals while you’re still waiting is incredibly disheartening. On top of that, the transfer of files from Lisbon to Madeira and other regions has only made things more uncertain, as there’s no clear visibility on how long approvals will take in these locations. It really seems like the later part of January 2023 biometrics are stuck in an endless tunnel with no clear timeline for resolution. Hang in there—hopefully, some movement will happen soon!
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Yes, we are all later part of Jan 2023 bios, mine was on 25th. I saw some Feb and March bios were approved these weeks.
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I’ve found seven of us with January 2023 bios in Lisbon still waiting for approval:
- @Benjamin_Trotter – 23 Jan 2023
- @mborcherding - 23 Jan 2023
- @Daisyyyy – 25 Jan 2023
- @chetiansunny – 26 Jan 2023
- @raivikas – 27 Jan 2023
- @heide.blunt – 31 Jan 2023
- @emailtoasifali – 31 Jan 2023
If one of us gets approved, the rest shouldn’t be far behind! Trying to stay optimistic here, but the wait is beyond frustrating!
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I don’t believe AIMA uses biometrics as the basis for chronological processing. It seems to be the application submission (i.e. payment) date. Also, with applications now being shuffled throughout different offices, chronology is more and more symbolic.
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I can’t agree more! However, it seems that the later part of January 2023 biometrics were all moved to Madeira, which is why I believe the process might still follow a chronological order. But as you rightly said—who knows? It’s all speculative. I’m just trying to keep our spirits high and hope alive! 
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In that case, start looking into yoga retreats!..
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Oh…I did my biometrics in Coimbra. Does this also matter in terms of card receival time? What is the normal case? 3 months maximum?