Great. Looking forward to mas delays.
Iāve worked in large systems IT for more than 30 years. Even in a modern, properly functioning organisation where everyoneās on-board and pulling in the same direction, a major system change can take a year+
In the dysfunctional SNAFU that is SEF/AIMA this could take a decade.
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Maybe they are replacing the single laptop in every SEF office? There are probably only a dozen computers in all of SEF, given its performanceā¦
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Post I just made in another thread also talks about the failings of their ānewā IT systemsā¦
To try to resolve the situation, the now outgoing government promised to invest in modernizing the IT system, with a portal already open to requests for the granting and renewal of residence permits, one of the SEFās problems, which was unable to respond to requests made. and presented several structural problems.
Update: we received an email from our lawyers on 26 December (theyāre not even working until 2 January) letting us know that the court has approved the process of our summons and given AIMA seven days to respond to it. Whether this is seven working days - in which case we will be into the second week of January - or calendar days Iām not sure but something is in motion already and has not been held up by Christmas. It was also not rejected outright on the basis that it was submitted by our lawyers under a power of attorney and not directly in person. After two years, I have no raised hopes or excitement about this process but the speedy progress of the urgent summons to issue our residency cards ends the year on a happier note. Happy New Year everyone.
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Nice to hear that it is moving along for you. For illustrative purposes here is our timeline: we had our summons accepted on November 28. AIMA responded on December 11 - depending on how you count the days, it was around 9. We are currently waiting for the courtās decision of which there has been no word. Our legal team are hopeful they hear something in the next few weeks. Good luck with it all.
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What was the response from aima? Are they fighting it or simply responding that they are too overloaded with cases to respond and need more time?
TBH, our lawyer hasnāt given us the specifics of their response so we arenāt too sure. Of I find out more information Iāll be sure to update the post.
just seems weird that lawyers are always so secretive about everything. Normally in the US, when i am involved in legal matters the lawyers would immediately provide a copy of any legal decision as it became available. I feel like you paid for the work, the work product should belong to you.
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Thursday, Dec 28th: Received great news from our attorney today that my application was approved. Still need wife and son, but hopefully they are forthcoming. Nonetheless, this was a major deal - i have until 4Jan to pay my fees. After that, the card(s) will be issued. How long does this take - who can say?
I had the insight today that this is like a trip to Disney. A popular attraction has a line leading in the front door. then the hall bends and leads to a large room with serpentine lines that end in what appears to be the exit. but you reach that portal and it just leads to another room with seemingly endless lines. Then one more after that. You never really can tell how many there are until you finally reach the end. No one tells you how many queuing rooms there are or how long it will take to traverse them. But, you want to ride the ride, so you endure it.
As to how the lawsuit fits in - one canāt think of it as ācutting in lineā, but rather, choosing to invest in the āFastPassā.
So, my original timeline was posted earlier and while I had really hoped to have the cards in time for the December vacation/time-in-country visit the first week of Dec, they did not come. But the first one now approved has and i am happy for that and have zero doubt that would not be the situation if we were plodding along the disney-line without the Fastpass.
Wishing our other posters and participants in this journey equal success tempered with the knowledge the āFastpassā does NOT equal āimmediateā. AIMA was 6 weeks beyond the date set by the judge and only 1/3 has been approved; and the time from remittance of fees to issuance of cards remains to be seen. That will be next update.
Boa Tarde (see, working on my Portuguese now) 
January 3 Update: The approvals and DUC payment forms for my wife and son have been received at our attorney this morning, forwarded to me, and paid already. Not letting any doc sit in my basket for too long. So, pending the actual printing and delivery of the cards, we have passed through the process. From other posters who had reported delays in getting the physical cards, will hope that issue has resolved and the 10-15 day window is what we will experience. Next update will be after the cards arrive at the law office.
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@richn4 did you finally go with the same lawyer?
Please let me know as we are reviewing our representation because our lawyers donāt even seem to have the expertise.
Cheers
@watsonhal2016 did you file with the same lawyers that represented your ARI application or did you change representation?
We are reviewing our representation due to lack of knowledge, understanding or action on their behalf.
Cheers,
Risto
We have been with the same firm from inception. the original attorney left and has returned, but our go-to attorney has been working the program for over a year and has addressed both the ARI filings and the suit. The original is available as and advisor reference if needed.
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We did continue with our existing lawyers. At least, the same law firm. For our GV applications we are now on our third actual lawyer (they keep on leaving) and the AIMA summons was written and submitted by another team. They seem to be quite good with this process and the summons was written including some specific detail about our applications that we felt may indicate hardship (or at least inconvenience).
Can you name them please?
We all need good lawyers in Portugal.
Thank you.
From the Nov 13 post.
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I am not staying in Portugal. Will the court agree to hardship because of delay in issuing final approval. What reasons can I give. I have been discussing with my lawyer but they keep asking me to be patient.
I donāt think youāll get an authoritative answer to this question beyond talking to multiple lawyers who have experience issuing the urgent summons against AIMA and see who is prepared to draft and submit the summons on your behalf.
We did our biometrics in February 2023 and so the only remaining step is the issuance of the residency card. In this scenario, our lawyers recommended the urgent summons route. It may not be appropriate for earlier scenarios/stages. It was a bespoke summons document drafted and submitted by our lawyers under a Power of Attorney. The hardship and urgency argument was strengthened by the employment cycle at international schools for jobs starting in September. My partner already missed two cycles in 2022 and 2023 and risks missing 2024 if we donāt have confidence we will get the residency cards early in 2024. Without getting into a discussion here on whether my partner can or should actually apply for teaching positions while we wait for the residency cards, this is part of our argument in the summons that strengthened the case. So, I guess these things are bespoke and not simply based on an argument that SEF/AIMA has blown its own deadlines.
It seems that after Biometric the remain is the issuance of the card. But at this current situation, I believe that we have to encounter 2 more steps.
One: having the DUC to pay. Some gets quickly, some gets slowly. Last year it took me 2.5 months to get the DUC to pay
Two: Card printing. After payment, the card should be printed theoretically. However, what is happening right now is that no one gets the card since end of September.
I paid the cardsās fee on Nov. Itās been more than 1 month now and still no card yet.
I am willing to wait two more months, then another lawsuit need to be executed to get the card. Only thing we can do with the Republic of Banana is to take the lawsuit. Do not waste time to wait more than 90 working days.
Congratulations on your suit! I have a question - if your partner has a good chance of getting employment at an international school in Portugal, why have you chosen to go the GV route? Would they not have been able to apply for a work permit which I guess would be significantly faster and cheaper?