Starting a thread to understand discuss paying the fees for the residence card under the new AIMA procedure. Unlike the old system, you now pay at the biometrics appointment rather than receive a DUC afterward. It appears that AIMA only takes debit cards as a payment method, although this is not entirely clear. This, obviously, creates a failure point. If the debit card fails to work at the appointment, you’ve got a problem. So, I wanted to share some issues I see, hear from anyone who has paid using a card under the new system, and gather ideas on how to address this.
The debit card problem is especially acute for individuals coming from countries where debit is far less frequently used than credit (USA and others). Banks, even if told ahead of time, could still flag the transaction. It is further complicated by lower daily transaction limits on many debit cards. If you were paying for a family of four, you might potentially need a debit card that can process 32.000 Euro in a single morning.
Some of the thoughts I had included: (1) Sending funds to my law firm and having them make the payment (they said no); (2) bringing multiple debit cards; (3) opening a Portuguese/EU bank account (would have to retain one of the services to open it for me as I don’t expect to be in Portugal until biometrics is scheduled).
Just as a note, only one person has reported paying under the new system and they used a Novobanco debit card (they apparently had the account open and funded for two years - I have to applaud their foresight).
I’d love to hear anyone else’s thoughts on the matter.
Thanks for all the responses. My firm seems to have different internal operating procedures, so having it pay the fee is off the table. Looks like I’m bringing a ridiculous amount of debit cards when I get biometrics.
Knowing how things tend to operate in Portugal, you may face a situation that your particular AIMA office only takes Multibanco cards.
So in case your lawyer refuses to help you, your best bet would be to top up heavily your own PT bank account and use its card to pay.
I would open my Portuguese bank account - one that gives me a debit card - well in advance. It is a pre-requisite for smooth investment in funds in most cases. I will fund it prior to going for my appointment and use my Portuguese debit card.
I would avoid letting my lawyer pay for it because -
Though the ‘Tabela de taxas’ on the AIMA website (updated on 6th March, 2025) says the fee is €6,179.xx, over the last 10-15 days at least 2 lawyers have informed me that the fee is €7,730.xx. I would rather pay myself than be naive enough to expect the lawyer to refund the extra funds I would transfer to them.
As you would have understood from my comments above, I am still evaluating many things and haven’t gotten in to the process as yet.
