Ola,
My initial application was April 2023 and at the request of AIMA updated documents were uploaded via my lawyer to the portal in June 2025. I have received an invite for biometrics appointment for February 2026.
Has anyone else who is pending biometrics been advised that another set of updated documents could be required at the appointment or after?
Has anyone successfully had the biometrics and moved to residency cards and what was the timeline for this?
Obrigado
I applied in June 2025 and have my biometric appointment on Tuesday. I am thinking of pulling out of the process and wondering what happens if I don’t attend the appointment? If you say you cannot attend, are you given an alternative date? Has anyone done this?
Had biometrics in Cascais today and was number 24 scheduled for 2pm. I was actually called into the office at 3:30 and done at 3:35. Appt took 5 minutes for photo, fingerprints, signature.
Paid with my standard Visa travel credit card. Card will be sent to my atty’s office while I got a copy of my AIMA letter in case I need it for anything.
From what I saw, I highly doubt anyone is getting unscheduled dependents through.
I asked my attorney to postpone my biometric. They said they have no idea when AIMA will reschedule but estimated 6-8 months. If you think you might want to continue but just don’t want to invest more time/money/sanity right now I’d suggest you postpone officially. If you just skip it I don’t know what would happen but it seems risky unless you’re 100% done.
Thanks very much for sharing that. Did you happen to notice if there was a place nearby where someone could sit outside and wait? Even a cafe or restaurant? Just asking because my spouse (who is joining because we had paid for flights etc and we were led to believe by our lawyer that there was a possibility for dependents to be processed) is about to have a hip surgery in February and needs a place to sit while I’m inside with our rep.
Hi @Ajay26,
Yes, there is a very good, and comfortable vegetarian cafe, The Wonder House, just down the steps (or around the half block via ramps) from the AIMA courtyard. There are other options in that same alley. We had lunch and waited and our atty texted when our number was called.
I just had my appointment in the Cascais. My lawyer met me outside of the office. It’s tiny and crowded. The appointment was at noon and I got there at 11. She went in and got the ticket for us. I was called in at 12:10. She went and did a bunch of paperwork while I waited in a vestibule. About 10 minutes later I was called in to do a photograph and a fingerprint. Then I waited again while she sat with the agent for another 20 minutes. Apparently they hand scan the entire application. I was out by 1245 . Def no dependents
Anyone attend a NON-Cascais appt so far? Looking for info on other offices, especially Lisbon.
My appt is in Lisbon on Jan 13 (I’ll prob see some of you there!)
Hi my appointment in april in Cascais. So i dont need new police clearance right?
You should follow your lawyer’s advice foremost, but mine insisted I did not need an updated police/FBI clearance.
Ok got it thanks
I have a question. After the biometrics do they give you some kind of paper in which you can travel to Portugal later . I mean before you receive your golden resident card?
In the “old process” at least (and I expect probably the “new” as well), you get an A4 “Recibo” (receipt) like the following. It shows that you’ve completed Biometrics… and if there’s outstanding documents that you need to supply those will be listed at the bottom.
It can be useful to prove at the border that yes, your application is progressing 
. But you still haven’t been granted any sort of residence permit, and it probably means nothing outside of Portugal.
I did my biometrics in Lisbon in October 2025. My appointment was in the afternoon and we arrived 30 minutes or so before. There were two massive queues inside, thankfully the lawyer does this multiple times a week so I sat in the waiting area for about 90 minutes/2 hours while she did everything. I was called into the office to take my photo and get fingerprinted which was all of 2 minutes. I was so relieved to have a lawyer to guide me, the queues were very chaotic and she said sometimes they overbook appointments, so if all your papers are not in order for the first check you may miss your appointment.
No - they do not give you anything that you can travel to Portugal with , before the card is issued. You need the right kind of passport or a Schengen visa. (We had a friend who was travelling to Portugal pick up our cards from the lawyers and bring them over )
Had my appointment today. Got there at 10:30 (appt at 11). Attorney present. Spouse came too but was not seen. We waited about a little over an hour and then the whole process took about 30 minutes. They did ask me for updated background check and I had mine, but it wasn’t apostilled (still waiting on it to come back). Apparently it was accepted because I paid, got my photo and fingerprints and was done by 12:15.
Oh, and my attorney has said we would need to stop at the police station upon arrival to Portugal to get passport validation since we were coming in from Germany and our passport wouldn’t be stamped. We went to the police station and they told us no - we didn’t need this. The police were correct.
Had my Biometrics appt in Cascais on 1/6 - paid with regular credit card. Checked my application today and the status moved to “Transferred from SIISEF”
From what I am seeing, that’s a positive sign. No word on my family biometrics like everyone else.
Yes. I got a recibo that was handed to my atty. My info and pic are on it. Atty sent me a copy right away in case I need it while in Portugal.
Ok, thanks. Its helpful
My biometrics appt is on Monday Jan 19th at the Cascais office. It seems like many people were able to pay the fee with a regular US-issued credit card, is that correct? Or do I need a debit card that works for euro transactions?
Thanks
