Why do funds keep rolling in? Here’s one reason (of many):
You aren’t allowed to be “too negative” about ARI in community spaces designed to discuss it.
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Haven’t seen Thomas policing this fora too much..
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This is the one other bit that worries me a lot - there is literally 0 room for any interruption and one can’t stop thinking what will happen if there is an interruption because of absence of the required response from AIMA, because of lack of renewal appointments or an approval.. We have just seen so many examples of this over the past so many years that it is hard to imagine a world without any delays.
I strongly believe that this needs to be addressed - How? - with a regulation which says that as long there is a renewal that is taking place after the expiry date of the card, the in-between days are bridged; or even a broader statement about an individual cannot be hold accountable for delays / interruptions beyond his control and his residency will not be interrupted…
In my opinion once the law is finalized this is the next bit that needs attention.
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No?
I’m assuming you’re referring to these forums.
Let’s search the GV sub-forum for the word “scam”. 49 hits.
I mean, there’s even this thread that has been up for more than three years:
Clearly we’re censoring heavily…
What is required of participants is to follow the basic rules, which primarily boils down to being civil (e.g. no broad, offensive generalizations of all the Portuguese, being respectful towards other community members, etc) and staying on topic. The latter is important for the forums to remain usable and productive.
I think anyone who spends more than a few minutes reading these forums are fully aware of everyone’s (more than legitimate) grievances.
Anyway, good to have you back @ohbee! 
I wish it was under better circumstances…
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super helpful info, thank you
Funds keep rolling in because
- It takes a while for the information about the situation to propagate to people
- The industry doing the advertising is financially motivated to put as good a spin on said information as possible, if they even provide it, which will slow said propagation
- Some number of people aren’t savvy enough to figure things out even if they have all the information
- Some number of people simply don’t care - they are fine with low expectations because what’s left is “good enough”.
That said, a friend of mine actually talked to me about the recent kerfluffles because he’d heard it from an acquaintance who I would have thought wouldn’t have given a shit, so the whole change-in-citizenship-rules thing is maybe getting a lot more attention than the residency-AIMA-delays-crap was.
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IMI Daily is reporting the average processing time for an ARI is now 40 months from application. And of course, the government knows this, seeing as they recently admitted to intentionally slowing down the applications.
So the new nationality law eliminating the wait times being counted is absolutely egregious.
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While I don’t have access to the article so cannot confirm, I believe they use the Nomad Gate GV tracker as their data source for Portugal.
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I think you definitely need to claim royalty.
At least in the past they have disclosed the source, and it’s the community’s data anyway, and from my perspective it’s better the more it gets shared 
I’d want people—and especially prospective applicants—to have as realistic a view of the situation as possible.
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I’ve only seen the sentence below as the rest is behind a paywall… but tbh not surprised. Probably will be even more dismal if the Nationality changes go through as proposed.
Startup visas won’t reach 500 in five years.
In five years, only 490 permits were granted under the program created to attract immigrant entrepreneurs and startup founders.
November 10, 2025
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Taylor Swift: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
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Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash
not to digress. Somewhat related~unrelated. https://www.perplexity.ai/discover/you/cosgrave-critica-infraestrutur-FRo_xqXYQ2SPIUDQMJwJNA
If the PT government won’t block off the road next to the conference center so I can walk straight from my private jet into the facility, it’s not even worth going…
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Send this straight to Chega, they need more promotional material..
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@Hippopotamousse I thought I had my instagram set to private…
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This is quite a long read - and yes some generalisations - but an interesting perspective. Perhaps written by a GV’er, given their exasperation with “the proposed new Nationality Law—promises made, then broken, then remade, then hedged, a masterclass in institutional ambiguity that left thousands of us in limbo.”
Also relevant for anyone thinking of suing in Portugal.
As compared to the UK where we say sorry so often it doesn’t mean much. Even the automated platform announcements say they’re sorry when a train is late
How to Survive This Place
If you’re reading this from your crooked-tiled apartment or wondering if you can ever trust a Portuguese vet again, here’s what actually works:
Don’t demand apologies. You’ll just create antagonism. Focus on solutions instead. “Let’s figure out how to fix this” lands better than “Admit you screwed up.”
Avoid direct blame. In Portuguese professional culture, this triggers defensive mode instantly. Keep everything forward-looking.
Ask for specifics. “When exactly will this be corrected?” “Can you put the plan in writing?” Concrete commitments work better than emotional accountability.
Stay calm and formal. “Senhor Doutor, I’d appreciate your thoughts on the best path forward” beats “You have no idea what you’re doing.”
Document everything. Portuguese professionals respect paper trails. Put it in writing. Always.
Expect action, not apology. If they fix the tiles, they’ve apologized. That’s the system.
Remember: the correction IS the apology. This is hard for Anglos to internalize, but it’s essential. When your contractor quietly redoes the work without ever saying the words, he has acknowledged error in the only way his cultural programming allows.
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The actual “best part” is that even now, when the government has publicly admitted to intentionally holding Golden Visa applications for years, then released them en masse within the span of a few days, people are still applying to this program!!!
This phenomenon prompted me to reflect deeply on how people could possibly put a substantial chunk of their life savings at risk in this program while ignoring the thousands of horror stories, the mountain of obvious warning signs, the PM’s shameless admission of disingenuousness, and the overt hate from many locals. I also wanted to make sure that I never (again) made such a mistake myself.
So here is how investment migration failure happens:
Desperation: I really want an __EU passport__, the most attractive investment migration outcome imaginable. Nothing else will do. Creates intense emotional pressure to do whatever it takes, as soon as possible.
Decision Fatigue: I’m under pressure from the desperation, but there are so many countries, so many programs to analyze. Every country has pluses and minuses, risks and opportunities. Just give me something that works! Weakens logic, and depletes the cognitive resources needed to analyze details, so simple, impulsive choices become more likely.
Wishful Thinking: Finally found a way to get what I want with the least possible sacrifice. Yeah, there’s some risks, but even getting out of bed has risks, right? Distorts Reality. Converts the desired outcome into the expected outcome, making lower-probability scenarios seem certain.
Ignore Issues: Everything will be fine, right? Please tell me this program will give me what I want. Don’t be so negative! Validates the flawed thinking. Fails to challenge the wishful belief, bases the decision on incomplete information spoon-fed by manipulators, while rejecting conflicting information.
Tragedy: The frequent result of decisions driven by cognitive bias and informed by manipulators.
This creates an easy-to-remember investment migration failure mnemonic: DFWIT, or “Da F*** Was I Thinking?!”
To make better investment migration choices next time (if you’re fortunate enough to still have funds remaining), think of this investment migration success framework:
Flexibility: Opposite of desperation mindset. Instead of focusing on the next shiny migration object, think of different outcomes that you might be able to enjoy or accept. Life is long, and not only will you change, but so will the world. Maybe you’d actually be happier not in Portugal, but in Panama, Penang, or the Peloponnesus.
Patience: Once you’ve opened your mind to multiple possibilities, properly researching, analyzing, and internalizing your options takes time. Activities, climate, cost of living, crime, culture, flight access, geography, government, health care, language, rule of law, pollution, tax, traffic, and many other factors can influence where you would want to live, as well as the program attributes themselves. Having a sense of urgency does not mean rushing this process.
Ground Your Thinking: What are you missing? Seek information that challenges your views, rather than reinforces them. The more you feel drawn to a certain program, the more it’s important to research and think through how it might fail. This gives you the best chance to know what risks you would really be taking.
Value Your Time: No matter which investment migration option you choose, until you obtain your targeted residency or citizenship status, your life will be in limbo. In addition to financial costs, for however long they make you wait, investment migration programs cost you time, both concretely in preparing paperwork, fulfilling travel requirements, etc., but also because every other plan you contemplate during this waiting period becomes contingent on the outcome of your investment migration process. You will never get this time back, and every month you wait is a chance for the government to change its mind, so prioritize programs that take less time to finish!
The success framework also creates a mnemonic, which I’ll allow you to identify yourself 
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