I also applied thru mercan in Sept 2022 and havent heard a squeak about anything. No biometrics or preapproval…
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Applied June, 2022. No word on pre-approval or anything else. I understand that the only applications being reviewed at this time are those that were the subject of successful applicant lawsuits.
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AIMA is not currently responding to those as well.
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I think it is more like the courts are backed up, hence no (or very slow) movement.
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I sometimes wonder whether this entire GV experience was a reason good enough to make me loose faith in humanity. I am seriously looking forward to that long awaited alien invasion.
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I’d say that it is the opposite - the opportunity to learn, acquire a bigger picture view, and appreciate many good things about humanity that you previously may have taken for granted.
I was talking to my lawyer the other day in a certain country and he was apologetic for one ‘very slow’ government process which took about one month to complete. I told him that in my home country the same process takes 18 months currently. And it’s not even Portugal 
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It definitely makes me appreciate how other governments and citizenry operate, which is an absurd thought given I am chasing a second passport so I can leave the USA.
podoby’s nerfect, huh
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Hahaha…no but government agencies are a representation of the government itself. There can be facets about a particular country or nation that you may abhor but this kind of institutional breakdown and hostility towards individual investors is unique only to Portugal (lest someone again gives an example of Bulgaria). I dont know why European governments cant take a leaf out of UAE or other middle eastern countries’ playbook with regards to at least migration (controlled, nation building, illegal movement avoiding, economy contributing and win-win for immigrants as well).
Maybe these European countries or governments, are not welcoming expats, in their real opinions, I guess.
But then why keep the residency by investment option open…they should simply close it. Why the hypocrisy? They made me invest as per applicable laws of their land and now they make me suffer.
The people creating the programs and the people implementing the programs are different. The legislators and officials who created the programs know that high net worth investors are beneficial to Portugal’s economy and they may also benefit personally via connections to businesses profiting from the investments.
The AIMA/SEF officials implementing the programs get no personal benefit from investment migration. They see PGVers as using money to bypass the normal immigration rules and worsening their housing crisis in the process, so they bury our applications at the bottom of the stack.
Not every country can be the UAE because the local people often push back forcefully once immigration reaches a certain percentage of the population.
Even Singapore, which got rich by attracting global talent, is now closing up as nativism has surged among its population. Spouses of foreign nationals are no longer allowed to work (unless securing separate sponsorship), and intercompany transferees, even management, are not allowed without first offering the position to locals.
I am an April 2023 applicant, with the intention of moving to Portugal once we have our cards. We submitted a lawsuit and it still has not been reviewed by the court. Meanwhile AIMA contacted my lawyer to schedule my family biometrics appointment in the middle of August.
We arranged all the latest documentation, but we didn’t receive the schengen visa in time and had to miss our biometrics appointment.
My lawyer went to AIMA offices in person and requested another appointment, to our surprise we received another appointment for the following week.
I was worried that the AIMA offices in Lisbon will have limited staff during the August festive season, but all the counters were busy. Thanks to our lawyer, She came with us to the AIMA office and the process was smooth.
We completed biometrics now and hopefully it’s not going to be another long wait for final approval/cards.
I also spoke to a few people in Lisbon and most of the Non GV applicants are now receiving biometrics appointments, hopefully they will start prioritizing long outstanding GV applications soon.
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When did you file the lawsuit?
May 2024. We are still waiting for court to respond to my lawsuit.
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AIMA must have prioritized you due to the lawsuit. Many applicants even from Dec 2021 are still not pre-approved.
Thanks! And how long after filing did AIMA reach out with appointment?
Congrats; could you please check the status of your application on ARI platform? I am in the same situation as you and my application is still showing “under analysis”
Congrats! Though I’m wondering how AIMA would have known about your lawsuit before the court does?