Payment options for biometrics in Portugal, AIMA branch in Vila Real

[mustafaaydinol (Mustafa)]

Hi everybody,

I wish a great day to everybody. I’d like to learn if anybody successfully paid with an international Visa/Mastercard credit card in biometrics appointment, especially in Vila Real branch. Does the card must be a Portuguese debit card? If anybody can reply I will be really happy.

Regards

[PTbound (A L)]

Hi - there’s an existing thread with other applicants’ payment experiences here:

How to pay for residence card at biometrics under new AIMA procedure

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 …

Further down in that same thread, some people say they’ve used a credit card. Really you should have multiple methods of payment ready, in case something goes wrong. Things very often go wrong at AIMA!

How to pay for residence card at biometrics under new AIMA procedure

Be careful when paying with a US credit card (or any card not based in Portugal). It is very tricky. When they run your card, it asks if you want to pay in Euro or USD. Always say EURO because this is a scam to charge you a horrible conversion rate. You will get a better rate when your credit card converts the charge. Also, they try to get you again at AIMA because the next question is “Accept conversion?” - this is just another way of asking you the same thing. ALWAYS SAY NO! I made the mistake…