Weird how people who need visas first need to submit biometrics at the Portugal Embassy to get it.
And this for the purpose of travel to Portugal to give biometrics 
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95-99% GV applicants from third world countries (china india russia south africa…)…the quicker the process is, the quicker applicant’s investment exits the country. Therefore, the portuguese authority wants to keep it as long as possible. They will do it very slowly. Even to the point that they do not do anything at all…just to jail the investment in the country.
No… our family was given 7 day notice only (informed via attorney… admittedly, unsure if he & his whiteshoe firm was being forthright about scheduling etc), and we could not simply drop everything and get over to PT immediately; also travel time for flights (nothing non-stop) is ~35 hours plus logistics, visas, etc.
Unsure as to why this cannot be processed at one of their numerous embassies around the world
Because the law distinguishes between 2 things: visas (glued into your passport) which are issued outside Portugal, and residence permits (cards) issued inside Portugal. The law specifies you must be inside Portugal to apply for the residence permit.
That’s why even D7 has two parts: first the visa issued by the consulate to allow the applicant into Portugal, then biometrics again in Portugal for the card.
Good point
Nevertheless, embassies are sovereign territory
Maybe? Google says that’s not always true.
And in the US you don’t even go to the embassy for a Portuguese visa. You apply at VFS, a 3rd party contractor used by multiple countries, who offices are definitely not sovereign Portuguese soil.
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What does this have to do with anything?
If the embassy, a.k.a. sovereign territory, outsources their internal processes, that does not mean the embassy cannot process what would have otherwise been processed in sovereign territory
As an example, god forbid someone loses their passport while traveling, and must return to their country to get their emergency passport without any documentation in the first place to travel… more likely then to end up in jail, then, which would be absurd!
Anyone have success with scheduling their biometric appointment following the announcement for Jan 15, 2025 that Portugal would speed up its processing of waiting applicants?
I missed my biometrics appointment in April 2022, and today my lawyer informed me that I can do it this Friday. Good luck to everyone.
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You were informed on Tuesday to prepare for an appointment on Friday…Basically you have 2 days to prepare… AIMA is genius!!! 
What a great effort !
That’s terrible… they gave you only 2 days between notification and appointments?
How’d the appointment go?
Anyone else seeing success with getting appointments (following bad-scheduling by the lawyers to an appointment in 2024 or earlier which could not be attended)?
The lawyer asked me in advance if I was in Portugal. Because the lawyer had previously informed me to update the documents to cope with the new system, I prepared all the documents. So far, I have not received the card.
Just a data point: my mother-in-law had a biometrics appointment scheduled February 24, 2025 in Lisbon, for her initial residency card. She could not attend due to chemo treatments she is undergoing in the US. Her son and attorney appeared at her appointment and submitted documents required. They were able to reschedule a new biometrics appointment for May 19, 2025, which is after her chemo treatments will be over.
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