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Portugal answers, legal matters

What can I do if AIMA does not answer my application for months?

By DigiTao editorial.

Silence from AIMA is not the same thing as a refusal, and the two have different remedies. A refusal you appeal. Silence you attack directly, as a failure to decide.

This distinction decides whether you have a case, so hold the two apart.

What you are waiting forStatus on 26 September 2026
Family reunification decisionLegal deadline of 9 months, extendable in complex cases, with no extension allowed where children are involved
Biometrics appointmentReported at 1 to 3 months, up to 6 in busy periods. Practice, not a statutory limit
Card after biometricsReported at 1 to 3 months
Renewal, submission to cardReported at 3 to 6 months

The reported figures come from advisers tracking their own caseloads. They are useful for planning and useless in court. The statutory deadlines are what a judge measures.

The court route

An action under article 66 of the CPTA asks the administrative court to compel a decision. The clock to file is one year, counted from the moment AIMA's legal deadline expired, so a file that has been silent for two years without anyone starting the action can fall out of time. Portuguese firms run these routinely and they are usually the fastest lever a stuck applicant has.

What to do first

  1. Confirm your file is complete. Since April 2025 AIMA does not accept incomplete applications or renewals, and a file rejected for a missing document is not a file that is waiting.
  2. Keep every reference: the submission number, the DUC, the paid receipt with its QR code, and every email. That paper trail is the evidence in any later action.
  3. Write to AIMA in Portuguese, through the channel your process used, and keep the copy. It dates your demand.
  4. Then take advice from a lawyer registered with the Ordem dos Advogados before filing.

Some perspective on the backlog

AIMA's own Relatorio de Migracoes e Asilo 2025 counts 337,880 new residence titles issued in 2025, 55 percent more than in 2024, plus 189,331 renewals. An earlier interim figure of 386,000, circulated mid year, is still the one quoted on forums; the annual report is the number to trust. AIMA has not published a total backlog figure, so treat any queue estimate you read as informed guesswork rather than an official count.

The renewal mechanics, the six month protection for an expired card and the citizenship consequences of a gap sit in the AIMA renewals, residence and citizenship guide.

Sources

  1. Visas.pt, AIMA appointment delays 2026, legal action and lawsuit guide (article 66 CPTA action against administrative silence, one year deadline from the lapse of AIMA's legal deadline), accessed .
  2. Visas.pt, Portugal family reunification rules 2026 (9 month AIMA decision deadline, extendable except where children are involved), accessed .
  3. Jobbatical, AIMA residence permit process times and requirements (complete file policy since April 2025, biometrics 1 to 3 months and up to 6 in busy periods, card 1 to 3 months after biometrics), accessed .
  4. AIMA, Relatorio de Migracoes e Asilo 2025 (337,880 new residence titles, 55 percent more than 2024, plus 189,331 renewals), accessed .

Facts in this answer last verified .

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