My husband had his appointment in Dec 2022 and still waiting for the card. We worry that the file is lost in the system. Our lawyer wrote to the center that we went for the renewal and they replied that they are stil reviewing!! I had my appointment in Nov 2022 and my card arrived in 4 months. Go figure!
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He hasn’t had his pre-approval yet? If so I’d say his file has almost certainly been lost. My daughter (dependent) applied in Jan 22 and was approved same time as us in May 22 (primary applicant applied Oct 21). Your lawyers should follow up with AIMA, and if they don’t get anywhere, file a case. That may push them to “find” his file. You need to bring their attention to it somehow.
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Thank you for the suggestion. I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, but as you noted your daughter was approved a short time after filing, my concern that his file was lost is probably true. Will follow-up with our attorney tonight so he sees it first thing tomorrow morning. Much appreciation for sharing your timeline. :<)
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5 September 2022 Biometrics in Lisbon, still no response here. My lawyer says keep waiting, but it’s been over 16 months. What are SEF doing?
19 Sept 2022 biometrics appointment in Lisbon. No additional progress so far.
My spouse and I attended our biometric appointment on August 5, 2022 in Lisbon. It’s been 17 months since then. No any progress on final approval. AIMA prioritizes applications from other categories and put Golden Visa applications on hold.
What other categories are those?
Hundreds of thousands of ‘family reunifications’ and such…
Smart of Portugal to prioritize those who will need the most Govt assistance…I’m sure GV holders will somehow take the blame tho!
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Do we know if AIMA has issued any final approvals or printed any cards at all since they took over?
I believe someone posted that they are shifting printing to a private company or something and that it would resume in feb?
Interesting updates from my attorney at one of the larger law firms here in PT
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AIMA told to put final approvals on hold and instead focus on requesting missing documents. After this 1-2month period they will resume approvals in mass. My attorney has verbal confirmation from local AIMA branch our application has been approved but they have been unable to communicate it due to orders from Lisbon HQ
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Cards are being updated with new layout so no new cards last months of the year, but in Jan starting to receive new cards, seeing cards being issued 2 weeks after payment
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I take it as a good sign they are trying new things.
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I got my final approval and paid end July. Still no card. It this normal?
I heard that there are delays currently as they’re re-printing cards with new AIMA branding. However I wouldn’t have thought that would impact cards dating from July? What does your lawyer say?
Not much. He doesnt reply these days. I definitely paid before the AIMA takeover. Is there any kind of helpline one can ring and ask what is going on?
That is very interesting. Please let us know if you hear anything else from your legal team!
I don’t think that is normal, but I also don’t think this is a normal time for AIMA/SEF.