Hearing AIMA is sending out biometrics appointments massively, but only for main applicants.
Can we use this thread for everyone to share what’s your situation?
I applied this Jul, but hear nothing from lawyer/agency yet.
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Applied 2 months ago, still “awaiting payment confirmation” without any change today
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I got notified this morning for a January 13, 2026 appointment. I applied originally in Feb 2023, resubmitted docs on July 15, 2025. No lawsuit. My spouse did not get an appointment, my lawyer said family members will be called in at a “later stage”.
Now that they’ve effectively said that we won’t get citizenship, they will be happy to take your money!
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Applied just before July 19. Received a message from my lawyer today: biometrics scheduled for January 27, still waiting for my wife’s update. I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but if the new law passes and the wait becomes 10 years after the first card, I’m not sure I’ll go through with it.
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7 posts were merged into an existing topic: PGV / ARI Rage, Tragedy, & General Madness
My husband (the primary) got notification of his appt today!
Mar 2023 primary initial application
July 2025 submitted refreshed documents (for both under primary)
No lawsuit
Feb 2026 primary biometrics in Lisbon
No appointment for me yet. My application was Apr 2023.
I applied for my renewal appointment about a month ago and haven’t heard anything yet. I’m guessing those are going to the back of the line, until maybe Q2, now that the government has decided to rake in more cash from GV applicants who will never become citizens.
Sure, it’ll only be ~17 years to a passport under the new ostensible timeline, but this law would establish the precedent that the goalpost can move again without any regard for the principle of legal certainty and legitimate expectation. The government’s leading parties both cheerfully expressed their contempt for ALL foreigners openly on the floor of Parliament two days ago. They don’t want foreigners here. They want Portugal to be only for the pureblooded Portuguese of the era when everyone wanted to leave and nobody wanted to come.
Coming up on the five year mark, I have a difficult decision whether to continue or cut my losses if the law is published. It’s possible that there’s still a path to citizenship some day, but there are so many risks, not the least being that the government is openly hostile and publicly vows to chase us off. If I hadn’t paid for my first card yet, I’d abandon ship with 100% certainty.
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I hear you Mark. I feel that these mass waves of biometric appointments are just a way to get more people tied into a long waiting process and an endless cycle of expenses without any real commitment or guaranteed outcome from the Portuguese government.
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My lawyer submitted my application on May 28th, my wife’s had to be submitted manually and was a month or more later. Lawyer notified me today (October 30) that my biometrics appointment is January 20th in Cascais. My wife as secondary applicant will be later. I feel crazy lucky that my application has moved forward with only five months wait - there are still people from 2022 waiting, I believe.
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You’re not lucky, it’s all part of the scam they’re orchestrating. They want to collect as many fees as possible before people realise the law change means GV holders will never get citizenship, and people liquidate their investments. Why else would they send out biometric appointments en masse, today?
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Very suspicious. The new law comes out and suddenly biometric appointments are everywhere. Hard not to think there’s a money trap at play. Tempting as it is, I’m not buying the “overnight efficiency” story until I know the outcome of the new law…
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Is it remotely possible they are clearing the backlog so that they have a distinct group that can be grandfathered: those who had their first Biometrics scheduled before the new law passed? Or do they just want our money? (Don’t answer that)
I know it’s been a sh*tshow, but in my rosé-colored glasses I can’t help but hope this is an effort to make some kind of fair, decisive action, a line in the sand, before everything changes.
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No it isn’t, because the grandfathering would either be to date of application, or not at all. Biometrics isn’t really a point of consideration.
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Notified today that I (primary applicant) am scheduled for biometrics on January 31st in Lisbon. Same story about spouses, though, with dates TBD. Initial submission November 2022, so three years or so. I can’t help but feel excited, though I don’t deny any of the previous comments. It’s been a slog.
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I applied in March 2023 and refreshed my documents this past April, and no sign of an appointment yet. Are the notifications coming from everyone’s lawyers, or directly from AIMA?
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Applied May 2025
Biometrics appt January 2026, only for primary investor
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Mine came from the attorney, even though my AIMA account has both the attorney’s and my email addresses registered.
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