Your 1st card was only valid 1 year? That is very unlucky, it seems everyone else has been getting 2 year validity.
Yes, 1 year only. So frustrating. And expensive given the costs of renewal!
No. I got my first GV in February (6 months ago) and it expires Feb 2025. My advisor finally replied to my email and said that I have to renew in person??? Totally confused here.
TWO weeks? I spent 9 days (7 days clear) in Portugal in April this year and kept receipts etc. My understanding was 7 days per year.
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@fairhsa ouch, that is painful you just got 1 year. But yes if your card is 1 year just 7 days residence is enough to renew. Hopefully you get an automatic renewal next year Feb and if your investment was real estate, get the cheap renewal and 3 year 2nd card.
Unless you get given a 1 year… I suppose being surprised that different offices do different things is just par for the course? My friend who applied just before me finally got her first card today. 6 months behind me. But at least she got 2 years!
It seems like 1 year visas were issued for a short period earlier this year, then they reverted back to 2 years. You were one of the unlucky ones unfortunately!
What kind of investment did you use? Im searching for anyone who was transitioned to D2 with a real estate based VC fund. Since this kind of fund was also excluded for the GV, it seems rational to transition us as well.
I think mine is just a regular Real Estate fund, mainly buying and renovating, and selling properties in and around the Lisbon area.
When you do your renewal online, you will see how they classified your investment vehicle.
Mine is a real estate fund that does the same thing, but close to three years on I am still waiting for approval of my visa, so it will be quite a while before I have a renewal.
May I ask which fund you are invested in? Mine is EQTY Capital.
Thanks,
Maxin
I’ve definitely seen reports of people invested in real estate funds who’ve renewed (either here or in the whatsapp group) and been switched to a D2 and paid the lower fee. In fact I’ve also seen someone invested in a non-real estate fund in the same position - which unfortunately makes me fear that the lower fee is an error that at some point they’ll correct.
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Why are you even remotely worried about renewal? Don’t you have enough stress over getting the initial card? Everything will change by the time of your renewal anyway. Focus on one thing at a time or you will go crazy.
There is a substantial cost difference between renewing as a D2 rather than at the published ARI rate which, I might add, goes up each year. I believe in advocating for fair treatment and not simply waiting for decisions that are inequitable and have the potential to cost me a great deal of money. Even after 5 years of living in Portugal the Citizenship process currently is taking another two years, and with the glut of ARI applications around the post 2021 changes, has the potential to take quite a bit longer. Since temporary residence permits must continue to be renewed until citizenship is granted, the renewal rate is important. As I said, I believe in advocacy for fair treatment, and understanding how AIMA is categorizing real estate fund investments is essential information.
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To each their own. To me it seems like tilting at windmills. In case you haven’t noticed, there is nothing even remotely fair or equitable about the entire process. I do not expect that to change. As far as advocating, okay, who do you plan to advocate to who would even listen?
There is a group of attorneys working with AIMA and members of the government on GV policy and on fixing some of the mess the program
is in. Some of their efforts have already born fruit. The clock for starting the 5 years residency required for citizenship application is now the date of application. AIMA is working on codifying how the changes from date of getting the residence card to the date of application will work and how different aspects of the GV process will be interpreted and implemented going forward . Attorneys who are committed to making the process fair and workable are involved in the process and listening to feedback from applicants. Frankly I am
a lot more hopeful than I was for a long time.
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Who are these attorneys and how can we contact them to provide feedback? 
I hope you are correct and wish you all the best. For the record, no one has reached out to ask my feedback. I wish they would. My 83 emails to SEF/AIMA has gone unanswered.
Several are participating in a WhatsApp group Portugal Golden Visa - Waiting Room.
Has anyone been able to complete online renewal for “non-Primary” applicant yet (family members) ?
I renewed online and just received word that my visa renewal was approved. Looks like it is the revised D2 visa type. We have investments in 2 real estate-based funds (applied in 2020). We did not have to supply any documentation (time in country, criminal record or anything) and we paid only Euro 177. It was also renewed for 3 years, not 2.
Question for the group - I as the primary applicant was approved and my family could not yet submit for renewal. This is still the case even though I have been approved now for 2 weeks. Has anyone had this happen to them?
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