Awaiting Pre-Approval (Stage 2)

hello would you plz give me your lowyer if you was satisfied with him or she ?

who was your lowyer ?

Raquel Roque at CRS Advogados

Hey friends, wanted to share some good news for those who are still waiting not to lose hope (as I previously did :sweat_smile:)

Just did my biometrics in Porto. Below details for reference.

Dec 21 Bought rehabilitation property
Aug 22 online application
Jan 23 added my wife
Jan 25 renewed documents
Jun 25 prepared for a lawsuit, new lawyer contacted AIMA for response, and informed them I’m coming to Portugal in July. First response from AIMA received, requesting additional documentation.
Jul 25 we reminded them that I have arrived in Portugal in 28th, approval came on 30th, appointment scheduled for 31st.

My learning from all this, and actually going to the AIMA office? It reminded me very much of the system of appointments at the Portuguese embassy in UAE. It’s a mess, and you gotta keep reaching out. I asked a new lawyer to help with lawsuit but file moved before we got to it. Also taking the leap and just visiting to add pressure is something to consider.

I still have one issue, they’re asking for a documentation to show I don’t have a TIN (Tax Identification Number) since we don’t have that in Iraq nor UAE. Unfortunately there is no official document to share this so my file is stuck again and won’t be processed till I produce such a document. I’ll write this in another post to see if anyone has experienced something similar.

Goodluck to all.

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Congratulations, hope you complete your process smoothly, can you share which law office you are dealing with and if you recommend them for a lawsuit as i am considering to start one.

The UAE tax system would identify you with your EID number. For all practical purposes that is your TIN. Even if you were paying tax in the UAE, you may not get a separate NIF equivalent. I used to be in another GCC country and over multiple years I obtained a ā€˜tax residency certificate’ annually only on the basis of my ID no.

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Congratulations! Though that is indeed quite irregular, getting an appointment scheduled a day after pre-approval. I’d imagine you being there and pressure from your lawyers did help.

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My lawyer is as frustrating as AIMA, I submitted in DEC 2021 and still have heard nothing. My lawyer simply says that I have to keep waiting or start legal action. Has anyone else been waiting 3 1/2 years and still had nothing?

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We applied ~March 2022 and are still waiting, so you’re definitely not alone.

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Many of us submitted late in December 2021 and are still awaiting approval. Our lawyers advise against taking it to court. Those who did got approvals wiithin months.
We were told that our applications would be dealt with by the middle of this year, but there is still no sign of any progress. Soon, it will be four years without even any acknowledgment of the application.

If you take it to court, you may be perceived as a potentially disloyal citizen who does not trust or respect the government. However, if you do nothing, you may never even become a citizen.

Meanwhile, some people I know, who have completed all requirements for a passport, are still on hold indefinitely.

If you buy property as a GV option, you are bringing needed capital into the country. Then many want to label you as an opportunistic speculator who just pushes prices up. Meanwhile, you can’t lease out the property as you don’t know whether or when an approval might be granted.

It’s difficult not to feel taken advantage of.

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This is why the legislative body responsible for amending the law should be made aware by us, the investors, that while the solicitation terms at the time guaranteed a five-year investment period, many applications submitted under SEF as far back as December 2021 remain unaddressed. By contrast, applications filed under AIMA’s supervision this year have been processed in due course. This discrepancy not only locks earlier investors into lower returns, but also unfairly delays the start of their five-year residency period toward Portuguese nationality, as that clock only begins once the Golden Visa is granted. The result is a structural inequity that undermines constitutional fairness and the principle of equal treatment.

And the 5 years may be 10 years. The start of the counting may be from the date the first card is issue. The unfairness is unbearable. I hope more of us write to the deputies of assembly Composição

And the president https://www.presidencia.pt/contactos/formulario-de-contacto/?utm_campaign=website&utm_medium=email&utm_source=nomadgate

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The citizenship clock starts at the time of initial application submission and DUC payment.

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I think this is in question. As I understand the law (which they are trying to change), the clock starts from application if you are approved (not pre-approval). If approval occurs after the change in the law eliminating that start date, a person could be out of luck. If approved before the change, then I think there’s an argument that the retroactive credit you’ve obtained can’t be taken away.

Again, there were never any regulations issued with respect to the ā€œfrom date of applicationā€ law. It is my understanding that there is some dispute about what this means for that law.

It also raises fascinating questions. Is approval at payment of DUC? Also, the 2025 process involved most people paying at biometrics (not DUCs). Were they ā€œapprovedā€ at that time or some future point?

There’s still a lot of questions. Ultimately, I think this will be decided by the courts.

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The clock stars from the date of the application fee is paid as of today. What the very recent proposal would do is setting the date as the date the first card is issued.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. AIMA is random…

It was my response to the post above my comment. Yes I’m closely following the on going discussions and wrote my opinion to the deputies and president. I was just hoping that more of us would do so.

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Hey everyone, received pre approval for my family who applied in July 2022 ( primary applicant in Nov 2021). Thanks for all the emotional support and sharing info in this group. Wish you all good luck.
I have updated my data on the spreadsheet as well

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Hi Vikas, congratulations !
Can I ask what date you resubmitted your documents this year ?
Thanks,
J

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That’s awesome! On that note, were you ever asked to resubmit documents for dependents? I’m nearly the same as you for both dates and we never received any requests or updates on dependent apps yet.

We recently received the same news for my wife (I’m the primary). We are more or less on your same exact schedule for both primary and dependent. We had to reconfirm marriage license (original) and her FBI background check. Our attorney hasn’t asked us for anything else. Still no word on the appointment at AIMA for her.