You might have found the mythical unicorn - a lawyer who actually does anything at all versus being a useless professional AIMA apologist and sitter-around! Like many others, I’d love the contact of this mystical proactive firm..
Finally been informed that our cards are issued by our lawyer.
December 2021: Application
September 2023: Biometrics in Lisbon
April and June 2026: DUC Payments for cards
August 2026: Cards issued
We started this process with a lot of excitement and now ending the first stage after 4.5 years in total disillusionment and anger…
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Of 46,000 pending golden visa applications, around 30,000 appointments have been made and 6,000 cases processed.
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So tracking ministro da Presidência António Leitão Amaro’s comments from end-October of last year:
- [painfully true] “Only once we have dealt with all of these will we leave the wealthiest to the back of the queue,” he stressed,
- [bullshit] pointing out that “next year, the vast majority of residence permits for investment purposes (golden visas) will have been processed and the applicants will have paid the relevant fees”.
From yesterday’s CNN article (above):
- [98.9% done] Of the 445,000 pending expressions of interest – a scheme that allowed people to regularise their status in Portugal even if they had entered the country on a tourist visa – only 5,000 cases remain to be resolved.
- [47.3% of a fuzzier statistic] With regard to family reunification, he stated that “55,000 appointments were made in 2026, with 26,000 authorisations granted”, which is above the historical average, which stood at under 20,000.
- [13.0% done] As for the 46,000 pending ARI applications, around 30,000 appointments were made and 6,000 cases have already been processed.
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Only 6000 out of 46000 were processed. It is terrible to look at this number. We also need to keep in mind that the number does not show and reflect accurately how many renewal of existing ARI holders are NOT being processed/concluded due to various reasons (appointments, fee, bugs of platform, not being able to register account,…). The number of existing ARI includes both ARI main applicants and family members which can be a 100k (or even more) and probably 80% of 100k = 80k people are having difficulty to renew their cards.
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To be fair 
, he did collect the “relevant fees” (the card issuance fee 6k+ EUR per card) from almost all main applicants, whether they applied in 2022 or 2025. He just didn’t issue the cards.
I’ve said this before: Mr. Amaro deserves all the lawsuits coming his way.
He’s a good old center-right capitalist when he takes a middle-class person’s 500k EUR investment. Then he puts on his socialist/populist hat, calls you “wealthy”, puts you at the end of the queue (intending to keep your money for an extra 4-6 years), and claims it’s your own fault for not understanding the bargain. And just in case the May 2026 Amendment to Nationality Law makes you run, he throws a biometrics appointment at EVERYBODY just to take the 6k+ EUR card issuance fee.
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~30,000 x 6,179.40 € = ~185,382,000 €
Pretty good money banked for abysmal service, yes!
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in the US, I could see him found accountable, but Portugal’s legal borders will likely shield this charlatan from the consequences
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More colour on the “13.0%” figure I posted earlier. Including the scandalously unfair difference in AIMA’s handing of “old process” vs. “new process” applications 
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Now they try to repeat a new cycle of “honey promises” to attract a new batch of investors. “Hey, we have been efficient recently and processing time is just 12-18 months at the moment. Join us now!!!”
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This article brings simultaneous feelings of hope and anger.
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This scheme should now be treated like a scam. What is really needed is an FT front page article that exposes this scam. I have no problem if a govt wishes to close a scheme in the appropriate manner. This is their prerogative. But when you created a scheme to bring in money and approved this in parliament and then shamelessly ran and run this to present day without fulfilling your obligations, this is unacceptable and is totally a sham and scam. I have written to the FT editor asking them to run an article on the woes of legitimate investors who continue to spend thousands of euros on stupid documentation for more than five years with no results and zero accountability. Card renewals after being in the program take 1.5 to two years and citizenship applications are now ageing for more than 3 years. Totally unacceptable and criminal.
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Hi All,
I am bit lost here ,please correct me if my understanding is wrong.
I had biometrics done in Feb 2026 (application was submitted in Feb 2023) . I paid my lawyer " AIMA fees (for the issuance of the card) paid on the day of the appointment are €6314,20, per person".
Now what I lost here is “DUC Payments for cards”. What this fees is ? My current status is Transferred
Please can someone one explain what is DUC Payments for cards and what is next status will be ?
Thanks
This is for people under the old system. They did biometrics, waited some months or years for approval, and then pay via DUC, wait more months for their card. Under the new system you pay at biometrics and then just wait for the card. The new system has fewer delays and risks (many found that their DUCs didn’t work), but you pay earlier in the process.
Couldn’t agree more! Spouse completed biometrics April 2025 after applying January 2022, still no card, paid DUC in full at the time of biometrics in Lisboa. Don’t know if the file was lost or buried along with the tens of thousands of others awaiting final approval. This is beyond ridiculous!!!
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