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hi there!

are you already in portugal?

we arrive next month with a d7 visa, and it is my understanding that we need to see AIMA in the first four days after arrival, with a pre-scheduled appointment. have been going crazy trying to get in touch, have called hundreds of times with no sucess and have emailed also, with never a reply.

stressy to say the least!

@³¦²¹¾±Ã§²¹°ù²¹, I'm confused. You say it's your understanding you have to see AIMA in the first 4 days after arrival in Portugal? Who told you that? And you don't have an appointment? If you didn't get an appointment in your travel visa when it was returned to you by the embassy, you have to get the appointment on your own. I personally know people who have been here 8 months and more who still haven't gotten appointments. AIMA has a backlog of 400,000 applications. I have been trying for 3 months to get an appointment. I think you have to start calling and writing emails. There aren't any other options.

@wordsmith555

We are in Portugal now, on expired D7 visas. Like you, I have been calling and emailing for over 3 months with no luck on the appointments, but I did actually reach someone at AIMA on Friday who told me that there are no appointments available by phone now, but that they are attempting to schedule appointments from the emails.

They recommend that you make sure that they have your updated contact via the emails. This does contradict the information that we have been given in the past, but I'm sure you know by now that is pretty typical here. I do sometimes still call to hedge my bets. The AIMA representative also advised that it probably will be months before we hear anything.

We are dealing with an attorney for the purchase of our house and he confirmed the same information independently before I reached the person at AIMA. He hasn't been wrong about anything yet.

He tells us to email once a day and keep track of them in the event that nothing has been resolved and we decide to be more aggressive in the future...he suggested around February 2025.

Until then, we're trying to go about living our lives. Sometimes easier said than done.

Good luck!

@tdudgeon, Thank you so much for sharing your findings. This is what I've heard from others, both individuals and attorneys. Why don't they allow walk-ins with their docs at these 30 new centers they are establishing?

@wordsmith555

It is my hope that they will reserve some time slots for this, but I don't know that the decision has been made. It certainly would make sense!

Why don't they allow walk-ins with their docs at these 30 new centers they are establishing?    -@wordsmith555

That's not how it works. You always have to book by phone. AIMA is putting more staff in the call centre. It's gone from answering 1000 calls a day to approx 2000. They hope to increase this even further.

As for the new centres, only one has opened yet, and even that is always by appointment. They should be opening 10 more soon.

@JohnnyPT

Respectfully, every time I am able to reach someone at the AIMA helpline, they tell me that no appointments are available by phone and the only way to get them right now is by email.

I still call frequently to hedge my bets, but they have been very consistent telling us to email and that the appointments will be assigned that way.

@Johnny PT,

People are getting AIMA appointments for February 2025 in their travel visas being issued now, in October 2024.

I called AIMA today and the recorded message was that there are no appointments.

Very discouraging. What kind of system is this?

@wordsmith555,

This system is the result of the BIG MESS that the previous government made of the SEF. The current government is trying to sort it out by June 2025.

But what is your question to AIMA?