I completed biometrics over a year ago and still waiting for final approval. Iām also now living in Portugal and finding out how difficult it is not having a card. My lawyers initially told me I shouldnāt file a lawsuit. Now they say I should. Then they quoted me 2,500 eur to file said lawsuit. I know thereās a range of costs out there. How much did you pay or were you quoted for a lawsuit against AIMA? Who should I contact?
1 Like
Iām happy with AGPC Investments for my lawsuit. Was less than 1k eur but I was also using them for everything so I canāt comment on prices for new clients
What do you have trouble with, not having a card?
My lawyer, with whom I applied for the GV back in 2021, charge me only for the court costs (580 ā¬). Apparently, we have won the suit, but now AIMA is simply not following the court order to expedite the final approval and the card.
I too live in Portugal for over two years by now, and I really donāt experience any real issues by not having the residency card. The only time when this issue manifests itself is during travel in/out of Schengen area via another country, though I never experienced anything yet. Other than that, the daily life in Portugal really doesnāt revolve around your residency card (almost) at all.
One caveat: I do hold U.S. passport, hence travel is much easier.
1 Like
Thanks for sharing.
Within 3 weeks Iāve been turned away for long-term car rental, leasing, any kind of financing, and anything that requires authentication, like scheduling appointments online. Travel is probably next on the list, especially since some countries are extending temporary border controls. Iām still within my first 90 days so itās not an issue now. Itās certainly not impossible to get by without it, but things are more difficult.
When we started looking in May this year to sue, we were quoted:
- NSM: 2,000 ā¬ for couple
- SBPS: Same as NSM. We opted to go with them (NSM has more experience suing AIMA, but SBPS felt like a more personal service)
- AGPC: strange proposal of 4,900 ā¬ to take over the GV process (chasing AIMA, etc. - how pointless is that?) and then some undisclosed amount if we ended up suing
Note:
- No VAT as weāre not EU
- We had a lot of docs to try prove āurgencyā - but beware that meant another 800 ā¬ in translation costs
1 Like
Interesting, but not surprising. Try different institutions and agencies. Rules are not applied/enforced uniformly in Portugal. Even within the same financial institutions, rules are interpreted very differently between branches of the same bank. I would not just throw a towel yet.
As for the travel, it is risk, but rather minor, depending on how and where you travel. I wrote about my experiences in other threads.
Thatās interesting about no VAT as you arenāt in the EU. The UK is not in the EU, but my law firm charged me VAT.
Fairly certain VAT should be charged no matter where the buyer is (and I think even supposed to be paid by buyers in VAT-jurisdictions, no matter where the seller is)
I believe itās different for services. For example accounting services I receive from the UK are now billed to me without VAT. Whereas those I receive from PT firms have VAT applied.
FWIW, I paid no VAT to my GV lawyers until the point when I moved my NIF tax address to Portugal, and so the Portugal VAT became applicable.
1 Like
NSM should be able to offer it for ā¬1,500 now if you ask nicely (tell them you come from Nomad Gate). If they quote you something else now feel free to share this post with them.
3 Likes
Weāre also in the UK, and havenāt been charged VAT on services by SBPS Lisbon or our regular Madeira GV advisor.
Thanks @PTbound , I have written to my lawyerās finance department to query this. I wasnāt charged VAT for the GV application, an infact they didnāt charge me VAT for the lawsuit, sent me a bill for the difference in VAT which I paid without checking if they applied VAT for their services in 2023.
Awaiting their reply.
Not sure if you can file a lawsuit in PT if youāre not a lawyer? At least not to this court (Tribunal Administrativo de CĆrculo de Lisboa).
I do know that when I tried to check the status of my lawsuit/appeal using the Courtās reference numbers, their portal said you could only access it if you worked in legal practice.
My atty charged ā¬3k per lawsuit. it was well worth it , we won both of them.
1 Like
1200 euros
1 Like
We paid 1300 euros a while back. It was discounted (so they said) since we were already their clients for the GV application.
1 Like
We paid ā¬1500 for one dependent lawsuit.
1 Like
SBPS is currently my #1, but Iām still vetting and taking my time to decide in the coming weeks. Before finding NomadGate recently, I wasnāt able to find any recs or referrals! I know youāve just started with SBPS, but can you please share how itās going so far and if you feel like you made a good decision? For reference, Iāll be applying as a single person (no family) and doing the fund route.
Hi - we only used SBPS for the lawsuit+appeal, and representing us at our Lisbon biometrics. Our regular GV advisors are NEWCO in Madeira, given thatās where our PT house is, and where our GV saga started.
For the tasks we needed them for (above), Iām generally happy with SBPS (and I am hard to please). Sometimes their responses are a bit obtuse, but perhaps thatās just the circus that is the PT government and legal system. The team seems diligent and dedicated to getting a good result for you. They also speak good English.
I also wrote about them earlier:
2 Likes