Glad to hear it went well yesterday! One step closer!
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submitted application for my dependent(spouse) September2024, paid the DUC. Did not get any updates from AIMA.
@shin have you been given a biometric appointment as the primary? Currently dependents are NOT being given biometric appointments and per previous postings in this thread the appointments for dependents are likely “suppose” to be given starting summer 2026…for later in 2026/2027 or whenever AIMA decides to do them…
Will be in Lisbon Feb 21-27 for my appointment. Would love to message and catch up with GV people whilst I’m there.
DM me with contact number and I’ll WhatsApp/Signal to work a time.
Had my appointment this afternoon in Lisbon. Was concerned that a 3pm Friday slot was putting me at risk of getting bumped to next week, but everything went smoothly. Met my lawyer there 30 minutes before the scheduled time and she had already gotten a number and was in the queue (just like the DMV). I gave her the original copies of docs needed (criminal background apostiled, notarized and apostiled SS card) and my passport, then she told me I could go walk around and she’d IM me when our number was getting close. She got called in about 60 minutes after our scheduled time and was at the counter for about 10 minutes before I was called in only to do the biometric stuff (photo, index finger prints, and signature). Was done out in less than 5 minutes. According to my lawyer the traffic was pretty light and it seemed like the staff were working extra fast (by Portugese bureaucratic standards) so they could go home on time on a Friday.
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My Lisbon office Biometrics appointment on FEB 18 @12:00 hrs., for principle only went as follows: Meeting with legal firm, EDGE, on the afternoon of TUE 17th setting 11:45 as the time to meet with appointment attorney in front of AIMA office, after one and a half hour wait our attorney was called and half hour latter I was called for photo, prints and payment which were completed in five minutes. Although I was accompanied by my wife, there was no opportunity to accomplish her biometrics available. Payment with US bank master card was processed immediately on the AIMA POS machine. In all it could be said things went smoothly and I think the waiting time experienced was due to a systems crash
on MON 16th, causing a rollover of appointments that had to be rescheduled, and the Carnival holiday of the 17th.
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Must have just missed you! My appt at 3pm went similarly: GCS meeting earlier in the day to gather all the paperwork, 90-minute wait at the AIMA office in Lisbon, GCS attorney on site shepherding the process with patience and skill.
First scan of my fingerprints was rejected, which crashed the machine. Second try went through and photo and signature were uneventful! Payment by US credit card via Apple Pay was rejected, but the physical card was accepted. (We had warned the card issuing bank ahead of time, so not sure what happened there.) Recommend bringing a physical card as a backup if you intend to tap phone for payment.
Does anyone have any feedback on how long it will take to get the actual cards after the biometrics are done. We did our biometrics in July 2025 and have not gotten the first cards yet.
Good to note about tap-to-pay, I’ll remember it for my appointment this week. I wonder if it’s better to pay with a US credit card, or with a local debit card? The euros I already have were slightly cheaper than they would be today, but those CC points sound nice, too. Did they add a surcharge for credit card payments?
My lawyer at VCA says it’s taking about 5-6 months on average for cards to come from the biometric appointments that have happened since new process started at the beginning of last year. So sounds like you’re an outlier, but who knows.
I used my Wise Euro debit card on my phone but brought a couple of physical US cards in case there was an issue. No issues for me in mid-January in Cascais.
Check the speadsheet. Q2 and Q3 appointments in 2025 have received very, very few cards. I think your lawyer is incorrect.
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My attorney said that it is taking 10 months to get cards.
A post was merged into an existing topic: New online ARI renewal process (Feb 2026)
I just had my appt in Cascais. As others have mentioned, a US credit card works fine (obviously one with no foreign transactions fees preferred). I did not see any additional fees on the statement. I brought several cards in case one didn’t work (for example my Chase card didn’t work in Canada for an unrelated charge due to fraud detection). Also, you probably want to pay in Euros rather than USD (better rate). The card reader first asks what you want to pay in. Then it asks if you want to decline the conversion, which took me a second to process. For a second I thought it meant: decline your selection, but it states decline the conversion. Someone earlier posted on this board about this (and that was helpful–many thanks to the poster!).
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I recommend trying a few of the threads dedicated to renewals as you will likely get better answers:
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Had my biometric appointment in Lisbon earlier today. Appointment was for 2 pm, but my attorney advised that the office was running behind schedule. So I went to a nearby coffee shop and waited until about 3:30 pm. At that point, my attorney texted me that my number was five spots away and so I met her at AIMA. Took about 30 more minutes before my number was called. Once inside with AIMA, my attorney had me sign some documents. I had to provide my passport, along with the original apostilled FBI criminal report and SS card previously submitted last year. My passport had the stamp from passport control when I entered Portugal last week. Then had my picture and fingerprints taken and paid the fees with a US credit card. Whole process once inside AIMA took about ten minutes.
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No CC statement yet, but I don’t believe there was a surcharge. The mysterious currency conversion rate effectively masks what’s going on.
In North America when there’s a surcharge it’s the vendor who imposes it; in this scenario that would be AIMA. While in Portugal, we heard from an employee of a cash-only small business that for PT businesses, credit networks charge a much higher %age than in North America - something like 8 or 9%. So I’m quite confident nothing that big got folded in.
HTH.
A few more details:
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The lawyer did ask me to get an updated, apostilled criminal background check. I brought the original to PT and it got included with the packet of signed consent forms, etc.
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I saved my paper boarding pass for proving ‘regular entry into Portugal’ because the ink on the passport stamp in LIS is very faint - almost unreadable. And the lawyer wanted that for the packet as well.
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Had my appointment in Cascais this morning, scheduled for 10:30. I arrived 20 minutes in advance, got called in around 10:40, and the rest was quick and painless. Picture taken, fingerprints done, paid with a local bank card. Out in five.
Status on the portal now says “transferred” which I guess is a good sign!
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(Ex) Banker here…
Decline the conversion lets you select which bank you want to do the the Fx conversion from EUR to USD. This can be either the Portugese bank which AIMA is using (i.e. installed the POS terminal at AIMA) or it could be your card issuing bank in US.
When you ‘decline the conversion’ the Portugese bank debits your card issuing bank in EUR and your bank converts the EUR to USD for you to pay. I decline conversion as a rule, on the basis that your relationship bank would normally apply a better (for you) Fx rate, than a Portugese bank for whom you have no relationship value.
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