Maxine, at this point your best bet is probably to join the number of us other NomadGaters who‘ve filed lawsuits against AIMA to compel issuance of the residence card. It seems to be the only way to reach the light at the end of the tunnel.
I’m seriously considering doing that. Is there a group that is filing, or are each of you taking legal action separately? Is there any such thing as class action law suits in Portugal?
Are you willing to share the cost estimate (s) from your attorney (attorneys)?To your knowledge, has anyone had success filing a complaint with the EU for delaying the process for so long?
I would simply wait if there were any indication of light at the end of the tunnel, but there does not seem to be any. It is more than discouraging to see daily approvals of D7s awarded after a short number of months, and little to no action on Golden Visas after multiple years.
Thanks in advance for your suggestion,
Maxine
You can find a lot of answers to these questions in this thread:
You can see the link Rob posted above, but the short version is there are no class-action lawsuits, we have filed individually, and a number of NomadGaters have won their cases. Costs seem to run between 500 and 1500 Euro depending on who your lawyers are.
Interesting point. There is a separate treaty between Australia and these Schengen states: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Norway, and Sweden, that exempts the 90/180 days rule, as long as the traveller exits the Schengen area and enters via another non-Schengen border. Not sure if the USA has signed a similar treaty.
For example, Australian citizens, who have already spend three months in Italy, may immediately re-enter Italy, directly, if they have spent one-month outside of Italy. They can simple fly to the UK, which was never a Schengen contracting state, and return to Italy. One cannot exit/enter via another Schengen country, as most border guards probably have never been informed on these treaties.
As for Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Spain etc, the stay is three-months on each entry. There is no reference to the 90/180days limit, as the Schengen Convention did not exist when most of these treaties were signed.
[Exchange of Notes constituting an Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of Italy on Visas and Visa Fees [1951] ATS 5](Australian Treaty Series 1951 No 5)