I saw this public timeline where an applicant has submitted their application on Jan 31, 2023. I see their status in the biometrics stage and with a comment “Filed and won lawsuit that resulted in the biometrics appointment.”
Does this mean that anyone who files a lawsuit get to have their file advanced? If so, can someone please suggest me a lawfirm/lawyer that does this? And i want to seriously do this?
It’s at least possible, and many people seem to do it from the post-biometrics to final approval step. I’m not sure about from first application but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work
My lawyer (who I generally recommend) AGPC investments, filed my lawsuit for something like 800 EUR. This is from post-biometrics waiting for the final approval, it seems to have been successful though I am waiting on details
I filed action (post biometrics) and mine was denied so it’s not a automatic win. There is a thread here that others have experienced denials as well. I get the impression their administrative courts are beginning to see a lot of them so maybe that’s the reason for denials? You have a chance at advancing and the cost is relatively low (my firm charged 500 euro) so why not give it a shot? May also depend on where it gets filed. The whole process seemed pretty mysterious to me and according to my attorney they don’t rely on “precedent” in ruling on these, just the language in the Constitution.
If you have a law firm already, ask if they have an immigration litigator on their team (if they don’t, ask for a referral - not sure what the cost would be at that point). They will file on your behalf. No need to be present in PT. My other question would be if you succeed and say advance to biometrics, do you need to file another action when they don’t act on your application after biometrics (I had been waiting 17 months post biometrics for action on my application and just wanted to get to approval)?
Is this the moral equivalent of people who speed through the lane of traffic at a merge and cut in at the last minute just because they can, knowing that it will put other drivers further behind?
Perhaps in some respects but not in others. I did my biometrics in Lisbon in Sept 2022, still waiting for final approval. Meanwhile, others who did their biometrics months later than me in other offices already got their cards. Not sure where that situation fits in your car merging analogy.
I got my final approval and paid my fees in July last year. Still waiting for the actual residency card. My lawyer said he had filed for other customers and got their cards issued. He was planning to charge me about 2000 Eu which seemed excessive so I said no.
I did it to speed process since my children will age out at the current pace. I’m a March 23. Court case is pending response form Portuguese government (doubt they will respond ) and then it moves forward. Money well spent especially since I started a company there and it’s a pain for the 90/189 rules and applying for visas etc
Other than toll roads dont usually slow down all the other roads! Presumably every lawsuit pushes back another application while AIMA deals with the lawsuit.
I filed a lawsuit too so no judgement, but lets not kid ourselves into thinking its a “victim”-less action.
The link above shares the latest information from my lawyers. In short: if you can’t demonstrate urgency, it won’t help you. If you can, it will take approximately 3 months to get a ruling and then another 2 to 3 months to get your card. So, it’s no panacea.
That’s far better than the 26 months it’s taken so far just to get to biometrics…then another indefinite wait following that.
Being proactive & filing a court case has given me a feeling of agency and participation in the process, previously I felt my case could have been forgotten or neglected.
A year and 5 months and you still sit without final approval? It’s just shockingly bad. So sorry - hope the magic wand glances over your application.
For us, AIMA was notified to provide a defence a few days after we filed the summons and we received a positive judgement within six weeks of that date. AIMA now has 30 days to issue final approval and we’re in that process now. While we shouldn’t have to get a summons to force a government department to do its job within its own timeframes, we want to be in Portugal from July 1 - about three years after we embarked on the GV decision-making process - and the summons has brought more certainty to that as I’m confident we will have our cards around March/April so well worth it in this respect.
