Of course the days of stay count from the moment you received your first GV.
You and your lawyer have the same (user)name?!
Hi Tommy can you kindly elaborate? I have been told we dont start our second 14-day stay until we got our second cards approved / in-hand…
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"In addition to the aforementioned documents, the applicant may be asked to submit
documentary evidence of stay in Portugal for the minimum required periods (7 consecutive or unsequential days, in the first year, and 14 consecutive or unsequential days in the subsequent 2 year periods). "
I was given legal advice that physical presence days are counted against the validity dates of your three residency cards, not just a 5 year clock from the start of your ARI.
If your card has expired, AIMA hasn’t yet issued your new one, and the validity of your old card has been extended (like many currently are while AIMA fixes their systems), any days spent in Portugal will count against the old card.
We are in this position now. A family member’s card expired last month, they don’t yet have their new one, and we are only in Portugal for a few more weeks. We were told we will have to come back within two years of the issue date printed on the new card to fulfil the days requirement.
I don’t know if our lawyer was just being cautious, but he was very clear about that.
I was told that too. Although I would add that you don’t really need it ‘in hand’. My last card had an issue date printed on it that was several weeks before I actually received it. The issue date determines validity. So if you happened to be in Portugal during that period, you will have already completed the requirements by the time you get the card.
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Thanks and yes I share the same mindset / info as you. So haven’t booked any trips until we get news on renewals.
The worst case (I am in the same boat in terms of expired cards in Q1/Q2) is we don’t get our renewals until next year… so we don’t travel until then – by the time we apply for citizenship, technically there’s not enough “7 days per year” as there’s one gap year where we haven’t spent time in PT. So some of us here could only have say 28 days, not 35 days – if that matters to the citizenship application…
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My experience going to AIMA main headquarter in Lisbon.
background: between me and my family we have three expired residency cards (two Q4 23, one Q1 24), We couldn’t renew them because of that error saying we are not eligible for online renewal.
After waiting in line, we got in and spoke with the guy who handles the tickets, we explained our situation and he immediately said we can’t renew it here and he doesn’t know anymore information. After abit of “advanced convincing” he went to the Manager and she allowed us to come and speak with her.
She told us about the backlog inherited from SEF and how ARI residence permits cannot be renewed at the moment and that they are waiting for that to be fixed (she mentioned some new information which is they are expecting the renewals to be fixed by late May early June). After that, she told us we can’t do anything but wait.
One interesting fact she told us after I mentioned to her that there was a brief window of Q1 renewals that opened two months ago, she said that that was an IT mistake and should not have happened, and the people who renewed during that window got a normal residency card not ARI. Therefore, can anyone who renewed their Q1 card confirm what is written on it?
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Thanks for sharing and going through the hassles — did she imply / hint at whether the fix in May / June means it will be online or in-personal renewal?
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Its unbelievable to me that Richard in a short visit to the AIMA office is able to provide more insight into the last 6 months than the entire Portuguese legal community. Well done, Richard. smh
Did they mention if the “fix” will be for automatic renewals to be started again?
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Just to add to the confusion, we were given contradicting info by AIMA a couple of weeks ago.
- First, AIMA told our laywer that IRN is now processing ARI renewals, not AIMA (even though applications are still submitted via Sef.pt and there is old info on the IRN website saying AIMA handles ARI)
- I was able to renew online in Q4 23 and I have received my card (a normal ARI card), so I’m not sure why you were unable to proceed with that one.
- For Q1 2024, we were able to submit a spouse renewal in March. We haven’t received that card yet but the DUC payment request was the usual amount for a ARI spouse renewal. AIMA told us that the matter is now with IRN for processing (I have no way of knowing if that is accurate - we’ll know if/when the card turns up)
- AIMA did mention multiple IT glitches regarding online renewals. They said had to do with renewals only opening for some applications and not others (seems like main applicants didn’t open but family did). They did add their computer system is a total mess right now and said it was been incredibly slow and crashing periodically even for their staff. They also often can’t see where applications are at with IRN.
If we do get a weird residency card, I’ll let you know 
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While this would have been true earlier, with the new nationality law coming in with the purpose of cleaning up the mess that AIMA/ SEF has created, how can it hold now? For instance, someone applies in lets say March 2022… AIMA/ SEF sleeps over it for 2 years and grants a card in March 2024 which is valid until March 2026. Now as per the new law, counting period would start from March 2022… so during March 2022 to March 2024, there would be no stay of 7/14 days… it should still count towards the requirement to fulfil for citizenship… 14 days stay between March 2024 to March 2026 will be required to renew the card in March 2026… but the applicant should still be eligible to apply for citizenship in March 2027 (as per the spirit of the new nationality law)… otherwise, the new law is pretty much the same worth as that of our “GV” - that is worthless!
Yes I had the same thought. But if we have learned anything about ARI process, I think we can assume very few changes are made after careful consideration for the ramifications on other requirements.
I don’t think we need to slam the “the entire Portuguese legal community”. Our lawyer has been very helpful. And AIMA officials often contradict each other too.
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Yes, lets only slam most of the legal community.
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Unfortunately no, she just said they are expecting the renewals to start again in late May early June
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Hyperbole.
I just read on the “awaiting biometrics” thread that slots have opened for them. Any update on renewals? Anyone heard from their lawyers?
Hello - My Golden Visa expires in July 2024. Can someone please describe how to get a GV renewed nowadays? Which authority does one register with? Is there a good description of the process anywhere?
My lawyer says “The renewal process is very complicated at the moment, nobody is able to renew the GV cards in Portugal. We are still trying to understand what is happening. Let’s look again in the middle of June, when Im sure I’ll have more information about the problem.”
I am worried that if I wait until June I will have failed to file the renewal application within the deadline of at least 30 days before expiration of the visa.
Therefore, I would like to try to take whatever steps are available now to make an application. I am trying to find another lawyer who may be able to help me (mine seems too busy to help).
Any guidance from people on this forum on how to make a renewal application and/or on good lawyers will be most welcome!
thanks!
There is no way to renew unless you file a legal case. My card expired a few weeks back, and there was no way to file anything or do it online. Either just wait and watch or file a legal case for renewal. I am opting for the legal option as without it, it’s a wait and watch that might stretch for months.
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