It appears that I am on the same timeline as you. My first residency was approved in 2019 and I applied for citizenship 15 months ago. I do not live full-time in Portugal. Our residency cards expired in February 2025 (mine) and April 2025 (my daughters’). In May, I was informed that AIMA had scheduled biometric appointments for all of us in late September in Porto, and that we would need to bring a complete set of apostilled documents issued within the last 6 months or 90 days (birth certificates, marriage certificate, FBI background checks) and that the charges would be €2,474.40 for AIMA’s analysis fee and €12,361.60 for AIMA’s approval fee. This appointment is in the middle of the school year and is requiring a 4-day trip from the US to Porto solely for the appointments and my daughters are missing 3 days of high school. I was informed that there was no flexibility whatsoever.
Therefore, I am curious why your appointment for renewal of your GV residency does not require biometrics or a new set of apostilled documents. Have the requirements for renewal appointments changed since my appointments were scheduled in May? Should I cancel these appointments and get new ones through the portal you used? Also, based on what I was told, the cost per person to AIMA for the renewal is around €3700 per person.
One unique factor is that my wife of 2 years is waiting on her first GV residency card, so I understand that biometrics and apostilled documents are necessary for her. Perhaps that element changed everything for us.
Thanks for sharing your experience, as I would have not known about this new development otherwise.