Fees were raised by 30% in October, but at the same time a discount of 25% was introduced for online processes. Although it wasn’t clear at first, it’s transpired that online processes include the issue of the initial ARI card. So effectively the fees remained about the same (€7,730.11 x 0.75 = €5,797.58).
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Like @cj807 said above, the fees are essentially still the same due to the “online discount”.
The current fees (both with and without discount) are listed in this section of my GV guide:
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Thanks for this information. I hope our lawyer at IAS will charge the fees with the online discount. Does that seem likely?
Your lawyers presumably just pay the invoice that they get from aima (the DUC)
Yep. If your lawyer bills you €7,730.11, you might want to seek alternative representation.
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Again, posting what I just read, so I’m not sure how accurate this is, but it seems that AIMA is now looking to clear the backlog by mid-2025. 
Pasting text and link below:
One of the many challenges AIMA will face in 2024 is the substantial backlog of pending cases inherited from SEF, with more than 347,000 processes still waiting to be analysed.
AIMA Anticipates 18-Month Timeline for Clearing Pending Cases from SEF
The agency first announced it expected to handle the backlog within the first quarter of 2024. Now, AIMA has revised the timeline, extending it up to 18 months. With this adjustment, the agency expects to fully complete the backlog by mid-2025.
AIMA acknowledges the task’s complexity, emphasising it as the major focus for the coming year and a half. With several pending Residency and Citizenship processes, the AIMA intends to reduce the waiting time for applicants, including for Portugal Golden Visa and D2 Visa investors.
To complete this enormous task, AIMA is launching a mega-operation, also involving Portuguese authorities and the Centros Locais de Apoio à Integração de Migrantes, also known as Rede CLAIM (Local Support Centres for the Integration of Migrants Network).
AIMA began its journey with 740 employees by the end of 2023. Now, it anticipates hiring an additional 190 in the coming years with the overarching goal to improve the quality and efficiency of immigration services.
what they are going to update mid next year is “Due to bla bla bla, we are going clear up the backlog within next 12 months, …”
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Nobody ever thought they would clear it this year. Not sure anyone trusts this new timeline either.
Hope springs eternal!
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Such a joke and it is exactly what SEF used to say.
What a banana republic. They said they wanted to reduce the backlogs but they are doing the opposite. Now the new GV only has 1 year valid. That means, all new GV that have cards in 2024 will fight for renewal in 2025 and the same cycle repeats. To solve it, issue the card with 5 years of validity. That’s it!!!
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I don’t think they will do that (issue 5 year validity cards) because the government will lose $ from the renewal fees. Would the alternative of 5 year cards worth 15,000 EUR be acceptable (all the renewal fees factored in ) to GV holders?
i believe that a lot of GV holders including me are happy to pay 15k to have 5 years card.
Eventually, GV holders still have to pay 15k but total time could take up to 7 years due to the difficulty to renew. Therefore, if there was an option 15k for 5 years, I would say all GV holders accept it without problem.
The Portuguese Govt does not want to do it (and is never going to do it) because they want to keep the investment inside the country as long as possible. They have a fear that once the investors get the passport, all investment will be withdrawn out of Portugal next day.
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Hands up if you plan to keep your money in your PT investment fund once you’re done with ARI?!
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Ha, but that might be not the full picture. We might have been inclined to keep our money in Portugal, if in other funds or real estate or whatever else, had they treated us better throughout the process. But with all the uncertainty around “Mais Habitacao” combined with the SEF headaches, I’m definitely not leaving a cent in PT longer than I have to. 
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Of course, how is that even a question? Especially for families where every member is getting appointments in different places and different days, and the fact that young kids must be accompanied by an adult, it is so much more effort to do multiple renewal trips and biometrics.
In fact I would be happy to pay a thousand EUR extra overall for a 5 year card, because it would save on so many flights. You would only need to plan one nice long 5 week trip to satisfy your residency requirement! Maybe just combine it with a PLA course and be done!
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Blockquote[quote=“ohbee, post:1888, topic:45298, full:true”]
Hands up if you plan to keep your money in your PT investment fund once you’re done with ARI?!
[/quote]
I would think that if that was the main concern they would have left the real estate option. A residential house is more likely to be a sticky investment (timing of sale, costs , keep it in a world where airbnb renting was easy ) vs a fund where it can and will be removed immediately.
I think this is mistaking lethargy for strategy
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If the investors withdraw their money from the fund, this could be immediately reported and your permit would be invalid. A lot of GV countries choose to do it this way. They just give you your card for 5 years with the condition of keeping your investment as it should be. This could easily be done for real estate options as well. After all, you need to change cadastral records which can be again reported to AIMA.
So, it would be a better option for everyone to be pay 5 year fee in advance and just have an automatic system to detect early leavers.
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Any thoughts on this new development. I just received an email this morning from my attorney firm. This appears to be a new solution to speed up the processing.
“In an exciting development, we’re thrilled to announce a groundbreaking protocol for collaboration between the Lawyers and Solicitors Bar Associations and AIMA, which was signed yesterday. This collaboration will allow solicitors and lawyers to assess the 300,000 pending immigrant regularization cases on a temporary basis, reducing AIMA’s bureaucratic workload. This agreement also extends to the processes of granting residence with investment, the gold visa.”
…
“This collaboration is part of a larger initiative aimed at resolving the backlog and represents a forward-thinking approach to managing immigration files, as we’ve been advocating alongside the government. While the specific details of this agreement are still unfolding, its mere existence speaks volumes about our collective commitment to driving meaningful change and enhancing the efficiency of legal proceedings.”
Fingers crossed, this will lead to something positive
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What is the name of the firm you are working with?
I am selling this explanation. Wasn’t the automatic renewal a forward thinking approach to resolve the backlog?
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Actually outsourcing the tedious tasks to the lawyers is the forward move. Let’s outline some benefits it could bring up:
- First, they create hundreds of jobs.
- Second, they increase the card’s issuance fee to 7.5k. They pay lawyer 2k/card. AIMA still has 5.5k/ card without doing anything. All good here.
- Third, the lawyer who got the contract will surely have to feedback some part of 2k. Pretty sure that the nice contract does not fall from sky to their head. Hence this 2k/card is a win win situation for lawyers and whoever handed the contract to them.
- Forth, if backlog might not be improved, AIMA can put all blame on lawyers.
With all analises above, i hat off to the true genius who created this move 