And I am assuming your calculations have removed anyone who moved things faster with a lawsuit?
Good point. I wasnât thinking about that, but the chart only lists one applicant who got final approval after filing a lawsuit during the period I was looking at. Removing that applicant wouldnât materially affect the calculations.
Also, for the periods you have taken, the number of people who filed lawsuits was minimal.
The long journey comes to an end at last (at least until we have to think about renewals in 2 years!). Our final timeline to final approval:
Application (main): 24 November 2021
Application (+3 family): 29 November 2021
Pre-Approval (main): 29 July 2022
Pre-Approval (+1 family): 12 August 2022
Pre-Approval (+2 family): 23 August 2022
Biometrics (+ family: Porto): 30 January 2023
Biometrics (main: Lisbon): 9 February 2023
Summons Filed: 16 November 2023
Judge Ruled (Denied): 12 January 2024
Summons Filed Again: 5 February 2024
Judge Ruled (Approved): 3 April 2024
Additional Document Requested: 16 April 2024
DUC issued (main): 6 May 2024
Payment made (main): 10 May 2024
Card dated (main): 17 May 2024 (2 years validity)
Card received (main): 7 June 2024
Follow-on request submitted to the court (family): 18 Jun 2024
DUC issued (family): 25 Jul 2024
Payment made (family): 30 Jul 2024
Card dated (family): 19 September 2024 (2 years validity)
Card received (family): 1-2 October 2024
So, 1025 days after they submitted their applications, my familyâs valid residence begins. (For me, it was a trifling 905 days.) Just really relieved to get to this point, and absolute best wishes to all of the rest of you who are still waiting.
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Congrats! Now to plan your 7+ day trip in the first year!
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I actually have 2 trips planned - one for just me before my card anniversary for my Year 1, and one with the rest of the family before their anniversary for their Year 1 and my Year 2!
Good for you for filing suit last November. I applied just a few days before you in November 2021 and my biometrics was in Lisbon on February 7, 2023. But because I didnât instruct my attorneys to file until late May this year and because they didnât get it done until mid June I am still waiting despite my suit being accepted and the judge giving AIMA notice to respond prior to ruling in July. AIMA responded to the court notice by scheduling a second redundant biometrics appointment for me! Apparently they just do this reflexively now without reading the complaint or consulting the applicantâs file since many (most?) of the suits are to demand a biometrics appointment. Now stuck in a kind of limbo where nothing is happening. Reportedly there are so many suits inundating AIMA now that they donât even respond to them. I asked my attorneys what was going on and whether we should petition the court for a ruling to issue final approval and they responded:
â > >
- As you must know, AIMA receives, daily, dozens (if not hundreds) of court notifications and, as a standard procedure, AIMA proceeds with the biometrics appointment, regardless of specific circumstances of the process.
The court does not interpret the biometrics appointment as a suitable response to the lawsuit, since it does not cover the request made.
On paper, we should have a sentence by now, but the resources are limited and the judges in the Administrative Lisbon Court are not complying with the legal deadlines to issue a sentence. We will keep on insisting on the issuance of the sentence and I will keep you posted on any developments.â
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Your suspicion concurs with what a PT lawyer said in a webinar on Tuesday:
- AIMA wasnât replying to the Court earlier. Now the law firm that AIMA hired to defend them at 50âŹ/case typically replies with an appointment date and âDonât rule negatively against us, weâve already offered an appointment.â
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So, basically even getting favorable response from AIMA is âdefault settingâ useless. They will give a date by which either new valid criminal certificate or complying travel arrangements due to visa requirements cannot be made.
Who says circus has gone extinct?? One only need to take a single look at Portugal GV program.
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Iâm so sorry that you are stuck in this limbo! We definitely know how lucky we are in the midst of this whole unfortunate mess. We really hesitated about filing - was it worth dumping a few more thousand euro down into the abyss? would it make portugal âmadâ at us when it came time to apply for citizenship? etc. - so I understand the impulse to have waited. Without these boards, we would never even have thought about it as an option even.
Good luck to you!
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Thanks for the kind words. Iâve just emailed my lawyers again and mentioned the webinar by InĂȘs Silva alleging that the law firm of Eduardo Serra Jorge e Associados hired by AIMA is responding automatically to all complaints with biometrics appointments regardless of the nature of the complaint. Iâll see what they say. I may switch law firms
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Got my final approval, Guarda biometrics.
Hereâs my timeline:
- Submission: Dec 2021
- Pre-approval: Jan 2023
- Biometrics (Guarda): May 2023
- Final Approval & Payment: Oct 2024
No lawsuit filed. No dependents.
A full set of documents (including updated criminal check, investment proof from bank) was provided at biometrics, and AIMA did not request any new documents prior to final approval.
Hopefully Iâll see the card delivered in the next 2-3 months.
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To be fair, Ines Silva only said they âtypically reply with an appointment dateâ as a negative ruling avoidance tactic, and she wasnât specifically referring to applicants who already completed biometrics.
Link to the webcast replay is in my original post if you want to hear it from her directly.
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Another update to my post last week: my card has arrived at my lawyerâs office! 
!!! I must admit, I had wondered if this day would ever come.
The card took 9 weeks to arrive, following my DUC payment.
So now just waiting for my husbandâs card. If the trajectory for his is similar, hopefully we will receive his card by the end of November. ( Iâm holding off on the champagne though, until his actually arrives).
Biometrics for us both were done in Faro. Interesting to note that on the rear of the card, it says the âPlaceâ of issue is Porto!
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Timeline updated, but if you want more details, itâs here:
(Awaiting Final Approval (Stage 4) - #1982 by orangeblossom)
My lawyer said that he received the resident card
My time line (only primary applicant)
- Intial application dec 29, 2021
- Biometric august 18, 2023
- Approval on 28th August 2023 and Paid DUC 6K on 31st July, 2024
- Card received to lawyer oct 2nd , 2024.
Lawyer is sending me the resident card by courier.
Good luck with rest of you.
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Congratulations! Where did you do the biometrics?
Thank you
Faro, Portugual
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Thatâs my situation as well: lawsuit filed on May 21, 2024. Bio was done in Jan 2023, but AIMA thought we never completed the bios. No word from them ever since, even though the case was âurgentâ because we actually live in Portugal.
Keeping hope is all we could do nowâŠ
After biometrics, they should have given you document that would have nipc #
You should be able to go and check based on that status of your biometrics result.