I totally get where you’re coming from. Coping with Portuguese bureaucracy is tough—especially coming from Hong Kong, a highly efficient place like Singapore. Back home, government websites are clear and officials don’t ask for random documents like they often do here.
I moved to Portugal in 2021 with a GV and, like you, quickly learned to rely on myself. Even though my lawyer has been the most reliable person I’ve met here, I still double-check all the facts, laws, and documents myself—because in the end, we’re the ones who suffer if someone else messes up.
Today, I received my AIMA renewal email with an appointment scheduled for April 11—just 10 days from now—and it’s in Madeira, even though I live in Lisbon! Since we’re both based here, I think your experience could be really helpful. I read about your difficulties getting the atestado, and I have a few quick questions:
Did you prepare your documents based on the old SEF checklist?
How did you obtain the SNS-related document? Can it be downloaded from the SNS website? (I’ve already managed to get the no-debt certificates for Social Security and Tax online.)
How did you prove your residence in Portugal? Is there any alternative to the atestado?
Did you provide a non-criminal record from your home country? Getting one from Hong Kong is notoriously difficult. From what I understand, if you’re residing in Portugal, it should be enough to authorize AIMA to check your Portuguese criminal record.
Thanks so much in advance for any insights you can share! And if any of this feels too private to reply here, feel free to PM me
Congrats Miffy. It’s exciting to see that someone pulled this off. I also got an appointment in 10 days in Madeira. I have a few quick questions:
Did you prepare your documents based on the old SEF checklist?
How did you obtain the SNS-related document? I’ve already managed to get the no-debt certificates for Social Security and Tax online.
How did you prove your residence in Portugal? Is there any alternative to the atestado?
Did you provide a non-criminal record from your home country? From what I understand, if you’re residing in Portugal (I have lived here since 2021), it should be enough to authorize AIMA to check your Portuguese criminal record.
Thanks so much in advance for any insights you can share!
Did you get this through your lawyer or by emailing AIMA yourself? How long did it take them to respond to you after your request for renewal?
Regarding your question on SNS, I suppose you should have your initial printout from SNS from when they issued your Numero de utente.
If misplaced, you can go to SNS24 website and print out your Identificação page.
I am not aware of this being required for renewal. Why do you think they’d ask to prove your residence if you are already a resident by virtue of possessing a valid GV card? They’d rather want the proof of stay min 7 days, i.e. your boarding passes, hotel receipts, local receipts with NIF etc.
I have been sending emails to AIMA for 10 days by myself. My lawyer told me that his whole firm has not managed to get even one appointment so far. I suggest you email them by yourself. They will reply to the email you sent to them.
Thanks for your suggestion. I did find the SNS printout. If you reside in Portugal, in theory there is no need to provide criminal record of your home country which is extremely difficult to get in Hong Kong. I just wonder what kinda document they need to prove my residency here. I read atestado is quite difficult to get.
It recently took me only three weeks to get the CNCC from HK Police using the new online request (from submitting the request, to picking up the translated and apostiled copy in Macau). It will probably take you an extra week if you have to FedEx fingerprints from Portugal. You will still have to pay a Macau lawyer to pick up from the PT consulate as before.
I am a GV applicant who completed my property investment and submitted my application in 2022.
My lawyers are unsuccessful getting a bank declaration from Novobanco proving that I have transferred funds from outside the EU and get the necessary bank statement that confirms the payment of the minimum amounts to the property seller, as well as the payments related to the construction contract (to show the payments). which is a necessary document to re- submit for GV.
Any help getting this document is appreciated.
Why do you need another bank declaration at the renewal stage? As you are on the RE path, the bank declaration should only be needed once when you initially applied, and it only proves the incoming transaction from abroad to PT.
The proof of the amounts you paid to the seller in PT is in your escritura document.
Then to prove that you still hold the RE you’d need to get a refresh of your Certidao de Registo Predial, which costs a few euros online.
If you purchased a property at the reduced amount, that is in 350K+ € range, you are required to invest in its renovation. AIMA might have discretion to ask for proof of additional investments into the remediation work. Now, whether a true bank declaration is required or a proof of legitimate (key word here) expenses can be presented from Finanças site based on your NIF remains to be seen. Logically, it would make sense to demonstrate the paper trail of investments into property.
The original bank declaration coupled with the original Compra e Venda and most recent print-out form Caderneta Prédial should suffice as the proof of continual ownership - that’s true.
From what I understood, the renewal process has been always the same as first card’s process. The only difference is that the fee is less. Your application will be analised and re-proved again just like the first time. All required documents are exactly the same as the first time except the additional proof of 14 days during previous two years.
Yes, exactly. I used to work as a sales rep and account manager at several agencies. I always stipulate the role & responsibility, timeline (changeable but necessary to indicate as tentative) and cost, then receive a signature or definitive agreement from the customers. That is the process of any business, I believe.
This case, the timeline may be difficult to clarify but regular updates should be given, and some motivation for making an appointment should be shown. (This firm left me for a year with nothing…) Therefore, I gave up contacting them, and started to proceed for success completely by my own effort. It is terrible that they freeze the final step, and threaten me.
Thank you so much. I feel more confident by reading your comment…
It is actually hard to manage the disorganization of immigration authority, but about this point, I am getting used to it, and could be quite patient. However, I can NOT allow the action of this law firm… How come I could pay money to them for no support? This is the second time that they charged me an “unagreed” fee, and I just paid at that time, and told them that next time they should confirm the job and cost in advance. And, they did it again.
Since the beginning, I wasn’t satisfied with their jobs, as the firstly assigned lawyer suddenly disappeared without any greeting or saying good-bye. I couldn’t contact for over 6 months by email/phone call/WhatsApp at all while waiting for the first application with anxiety. The firm said she was on maternity leave, but didn’t assign the substitute lawyer, so I just waited. OK, she never came back and later I knew that she started to work as an independent lawyer, congrats!
As for the required documents, I think my case is unique. (For any reason, I followed the direction/instruction which I gained by “trial & error”.) Sorry, but let me write about everything, once my process has been done. I don’t want to confuse or upset other applicants here. But I will definitely share my experience later.
Sure, this is all correct for the renovations option, but still SEF/AIMA do not require the bank declaration for the original transfer of funds from outside PT.
They indeed may require a different kind of a bank declaration that shows a required balance of funds maintained in the PT bank account, in case the renovation works have not yet been fully paid as per the renovation contract.
I am just referring to the SEF manual here with the official requirements.
Mine was based on practical experience. SEF was dissolved long time ago. Portugal is well known for its inconsistency. Maybe at some aima branches they follow the old manual. Maybe not. My renewal was done in Sept 2024 at Aima Central Lisbon and I had to provide the same set of documents as the first time. Proof of 14 days was done via receipts with Nif (No hard copies needed - aima accepted the scanned of receipts).
Fair enough, but how did you know which documents you had to present before your appointment? Did AIMA email you a list (which I doubt they do?) or did your lawyer send you his/her list?
If the latter, I think we all know how this may have been compiled…
My lawyer sent the list of docs to me.
I think Aima do not send anything. I believe that lawyer knows the required documents thru his previous clients. Imagine if you have 20 clients to take care of. After taking the first one thru the renewal process, you know what it’s needed and repeat the same thing for the rest 19 clients.
I think this particular thread has outlived its purpose, given that automatic renewals are over.
@tkrunning News and information about renewals in the post-automatic 2024/2025 is spread across multiple topics: this one, What are the latest GV renewal procedures?, WIKI: HOW-TO: Golden Visa Renewal Mega Thread (January 2025 -> ). Now that some concrete information is trickling in from people actually getting renewal appointments, I think it makes sense to focus the updates on one thread. Something like Awaiting Renewal (Stage R)? And a matching Awaiting Naturalisation (Stage N)?
