Check hereā¦
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Unfortunately, as of 24.04.2026, DUC was not created for my wife and children.
As the main applicant, DUC was created on 23.03.2024. I paid on 24.03.2024
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September 5th 2022 Lisbon biometrics - still no news. I didnāt file a law suit.
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Just for fun, I took the spreadsheet data and created a couple graphs. These look at completed biometrics after 2022-01-01 and compares it to how long it takes to accept those applications. Note the rate is going to be artificially low at the start as pre-2022 biometrics were being cleared, and the usual caveats about the spreadsheet data apply (itās not a complete snapshot of all applicants, the data lags the actual processing, etc).
For extra fun, I broke out the data for Lisbon. You can definitely see the effort at addressing the backlog, which kicked in around February.
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Chris, thanks for sharing your graphs. However, with respect to to the Lisbon uptick in approvals which you attribute to an attempt to clear the backlog, that may just be the result of numerous people forcing SEF/AIMA to issue approvals via lawsuits as opposed to any concerted effort on the part of SEF/AIMA. I think there has been at most one person on this forum who has reported a non-lawsuit induced approval from Lisbon for a biometric appointment after August 2022. Indeed, aside from those who filed lawsuits, I do not think Lisbon has issued more than a single approval (reported here at least) since last summer.
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Meanwhile pre approvals are now a flat line.
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Bio-metrics completed Sep 2022 in Lisbon. During the one year and 7 months wait, my wifeās passport expired and has been replaced with a new one. A few days ago AIMA contacted me asking for her updated passport. I donāt want to get my hopes up, but it seems like some activity is taking place. I will take this as a positive step that things are moving in the right direction.
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It is a positive sign. The same happened to me and I got my final approval within 2-3 weeks after i submitted new passport copy.
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Over and Out
And, weāre done. My spouseās Resident Card arrived at our lawyers on 30 April just 12 days after mine. Also valid for two years. We can now relocate permanently to the Stage 5 discussion thread. Hereās the full timeline for us both:
Application (main + family): 16 November 2021
Pre-Approval: 22 June 2022
Biometrics (Lisbon): 13 February 2023
Summons Filed: 24 December 2023
Judge Ruled: 6 February 2024
DUC issued (main): 3 April 2024
Payment made (main): 5 April 2024
Card dated (main): 10 April 2024
Card received (main): 18 April 2024
DUC issued (family): 11 April 2024
Payment made (family): 12 April 2024
Card dated (family): 17 April 2024
Card received (family): 30 April 2024
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So basically only started moving after your lawsuit? Did you have to motivate it by saying youāre moving to PT soon? Our lawyers said cases might be rejected without that.
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We used a relativeās address in Lisbon on the summons and argued that we are in a disadvantaged position when applying for jobs without the physical Residence Card which is part of our very real problem as my partner wishes to work when we move. This was supported by a comprehensive outline of the timeline, legal response times, and the laws around this. The summons was a surprisingly long document. We are moving permanently to Lisbon on July 1 but this date was not mentioned and our lawyers submitted it under a Power of Attorney. I suspect that you have to be creative with this to demonstrate some hardship - which we did - and not simply argue a summons on the basis of missed deadlines.
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HUGELY grateful to you for your detailed updates during this process, and also for giving all of those dates. We are just slightly behind you (I hope! we applied end of Nov 2021, and received our 2nd-try-positive lawsuit decision at the beginning of April), and knowing how your card validity dates correspond with your DUCs and payments is fantastically helpful!
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hi all, providing an update here and hoping someone can help me translate whatās happening here. As I reported a week or so ago, we filed a lawsuit (pre-biometrics) and won, and did our biometrics in Jan 2024 in Lisbon. I reported here that I was surprised to see that the status in my AIMA portal had changed, and someone noted that I would soon receive a notice for payment. We did receive one and itās asking me for payment of the fees shown in the attached image. We applied for 4 of us (two adults and two children, although one of the children turned 18 prior to our biometrics). Does anyone know why we would be receiving a request for this amount, does it seem correct? thanks!
The image you shared is exactly what I received and just paid for a single adult ARI at ā¬6,045.20 total for one adult.
Maybe someone else can comment on why you received this demand for 4 ppl.
Thanks, my lawyer did say that you pay the main applicant first and then they issue it for the other applicants, which seems consistent with other posts I have seen on this forum. I was confused about the amount because I thought I had read somewhere that they doubled the fees but then were refunding part of it, but I could be mistaken.
Update: had read it at this link: Portugal ARI fees increasing by 30% [but not really]
Your lawyer is correct and this is the fee for one person which is presumably the main applicant. Pay the ā¬6,045.20 and you will subsequently receive bills for the rest of your family. Mine arrived less than a week after I paid the main applicantās fee.
If you read upthread, you will see that this is the total fee we all have paid in recent months. Your lawyer should simply have instructed you to pay the total amount to AIMA through your Portuguese banking app using the payment reference.
Update: received final approval and notice to pay for the main applicant yesterday! Lets see how long for the rest of our family.
My timeline
Mar 2021 - Submission of GV application
May 2021 - Pre-approval received from SEF
Aug 2022 - Biometrics Appointment Lisbon
Aug 2023 - SEF requested updated Bank Declaration on qualifying investment
Aug 2023 - requested Documents submitted via certified mail
Feb 2024 - AIMA requested proof of my residency abroad from my home country
Feb 2024 - requested Documents submitted via certified mail
May 2024 - Final Approval (Main Applicant) and Notice to pay 6045 EUR
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Well done! You didnāt file a case? Itās good to see some final approvals not connected to a case, shows they are still working on themā¦
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I did not file a case.
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last update
application: 25.10.2021
pre-approval: 20.02.2022
biometric: 17.02.2023 Coimbra
final confirmation email: 30.01.2024
main applicant DUC formation and payment: 24.03.2024
card received: 20.04.2024 card is valid for 2 years
Spouse and children DUC payment: DUC payments were created today.
The case was not filed,
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