Hi all. First time posting. Have just started researching on the topic of GV in Portugal. Have browsed through the forum but still have a couple of things that I want to clarify with my post. 1) I have read on this forum that the recent update into law which moves the starting point for citizenship application period calculation to an earlier stage of the process is quite vague. Is it currently known to which point the law refers? 2) Let’s say I apply on the basis of purchasing investment funds and then at some point decide to pull out of the process. I’ll want to sell the funds at this point. Do these funds usually have a certain maturity period within which the holder cannot cash out? If so, then what is it based on your knowledge?
Some funds have no penalty or lock up period and some have maturity dates or early termination fees. You’ll need to review each fund specifically.
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Thanks! Any insight on the first question? A source of great concern for me. Very afraid that the application processing period will take 3-4 years and that it won’t count towards citizenship
The Portuguese legal community has been assuming since the law was released that citizenship clock begins at the point of application, and AIMA recently confirmed the same. I would, however, caution you against going down this route if you think there is some chance that you will need to abort the process and try to pull your funds. I’m sure that you will be able to find some investment vehicle that will allow you to do it, but there are a lot of real costs and time commitments involved in the whole process.
The “open” funds that have diversified holdings in Portuguese listed equities - eg IMGA, BPI Portugal, Optimize - allow investors to redeem at any time.
The 5 year clock starts the day your application is submitted to the government. This happens once you have received your investment certificate and have submitted it along with your completed application for residency.
Has anyone actually received citizenship based on the application date? I applied for citizenship 5 years after my SEF appointment and fee payment, which is what my attorney advised (though in all fairness, I had my appointment within 2 months of submitting the application). I’ve been waiting a year now.
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Check these threads…
(1) How long did you have to wait till you obtained citizenship? and
(2) Path to citizenship after 5 years on GV
Some have completed the process, and are also in your situation.
Interestingly I’m not seeing anyone in these threads who has been successful after applying based on the initial date of application (which was my specific question, not successful in general). Any leads on that? Maybe it hasn’t been enough time to prove the GV application date is really valid for citizenship application.
The change in the law regarding the five year residence period took effect in April 2024, although it wasn’t until January this year that we had any real clarity from AIMA on how they interpreted it for ARI applicants. Some lawyers have reported that AIMA has been issuing the contagem de tempo with a start date of the initial analysis fee payment (although practice seemed inconsistent between offices for a while). But I think it’s still too early for anyone to have entirely completed the citizenship process based on the new law.
In your case, if you applied a year ago, IRN may by now have requested the contagem from AIMA, and has either received it or is still waiting. Your lawyer can presumably tell you.
Thanks Chris, I think it’s the contagem de tempo that will be the deciding factor, based on what you’re saying. My attorney was pretty firm about using the fee date as my application date. I’m at Stage 3, so based on other comments, the contagem de tempo has been completed. For some inexplicable reasons - which I hope aren’t completely fabricated- she’s convinced I’ll be approved before the end of the year.
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Good morning
In the same situation
I assume applied online through lawyer platform, and you case is forwarded to Porto acp. (?)
Porto acp is analyzing febraury 2023 at the moment ,
What s your submission date ?
When did you apply for citizenship? And have you got a contagem do tempo before applying? Or your lawyer just applied and let irn&aima communicate to each other?
As you mentioned, your citizenship application is show Stage 3, it means you must have applied at least 6-9 months ago?
I strongly recommend going with open ended funds like IMGA and BPI as you can redeem at anytime if you wish to not proceed with the process
I applied in May 2024, though the portal says it was accepted in June, about 7 weeks after my submission. My attorney did not send in a contagem do tempo.
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A new citizenship’s law started on 1st April 2024 and you applied in May 2024. Probably you are the 1st person who took advantage of this new law🙌. Everybody here will be more than happy to hear your final result.
Except that my application was submitted in December 2018 or January 2019 and my first SEF appointment and fee paid were March 2019. My attorney was very adamant that the fee date was the valid one, even after the new law went into effect (it was the date on the first card before that).
Also I’ve been living full time in PT during most of this time - the GV was a bad call for me since I ended up moving here quickly - so it may be analyzed differently based on that.
Regardless I’m happy to be the vanguard, as long as I don’t have to wait 3-5 years, which I keep hearing stories about.
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Wishing you a speedy outcome. I am only surprised about your lawyer’s confidence and decision. Not sure how he’s got the information from. It would be much safer to have “contagem do tempo” before applying. It would be a night mare if you applied for citizenship on May 1st and later on Aima is going to say that your starting point will be May 3rd. I wish that will never happen to your case. But i am just saying how confident your lawyer was​:scream:
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Hey I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying about the dates. But I’ve been working with this attorney for 6.5 years and even if I don’t like her answers, I can tell you she has never once steered me wrong. To the point of getting SEF appointments exactly when and where I requested.
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Most funds can extend holding period. My impression was that AIMA requires proof that shares are held in custodian account from the custodian bank, not the actual share value declaration. Am I correct in that?