Appointment with AIMA

@IBHwood       No to all 4 questions.  I had my AIMA app't on Feb 5th and all she asked to see was my passport, D7, Attestado, and lease agreement.  Nothing else.  She fingerprinted and took a photo and that was it.  The NISS was asked for but all I had was a confirmation from Pt. Social Security that I had applied for the number online and so I am waiting to receive word back from them.

@IBHwood

Thank you very much.

A last question: what document is the Attestado?.

Once you move into your Portuguese apartment, house whatever....(wherever you plan to stay for a while and receive mail...) you need to go down to your local junta or local parish (municipal gov't office) with your lease or document/title if owning, and register that you are now living and residing in Portugal.  It costs about 5 euros to register, you then have to wait a couple of days and they will type you up an official looking document that you can use for AIMA, NISS, SNS, and the drivers license exchange.  This also allowed us to prove to Financas that we now live in Portugal and they switched our NIF address from our US address to our Portuguese address which in turn allowed us to apply for and get approved for the NHR.

Brilliant!! Thanks again @bill85lisa

This must be a pretty good example of how different people's experiences can be when encountering the same bureaucracy on different days or in different places.  In my experience, for an atestado de residência, at the junta, they didn't review any document, but rather relied on some other resident to confirm it, and they issued it on the spot.

Then at the SEF review, they didn't ask for it.  The only use I had for it, was for customs import of our household belongings (at which point I had to get a new one, to suit the importer's idea of what date it should bear - luckily they could be talked into it, don't know how important this is to customs.)

I don't recall presenting any criminal record document.  We submitted those in their unopened envelope at the time of requesting the D7 visa, and never saw them again.

Don't need NISS, just NIF.

@bill85lisa

Please let me know After biometric in AIMA how many days the TRC card should be received , Did you get the TRC card  ?

It is a bit inconsistent, causing some stress to those applying.  It seems it depends on who sees you on the day.

But I cannot complain really. I am the one who want to live in their country, so adapting to the good and the not so good and the different, it is certainly  a first step for a smooth beginning and a wonderful life under the sun,  with many other positives.

I can only hope I am seeing by somebody who asks for exactly what I am taking.

I appreciate any feedback from those who have been through the process already. Thanks..

@h9654004745

We have not received our Resident cards yet and don't expect to for a while.  Some people have waited 3-6 months to receive them, others receive them in as little as 5-6 weeks.  I guess it depends where you live and how busy they are.  Patience is a necessity here in Portugal and that's fine with me.  We are simply guests here and the wheels of progress turn very slowly.  You just have to trust the process.

I can also add I have been waiting for my resident card since November, you just have to wait and enjoy this beautiful country.

I am still waiting for my AIMA appointment since November (D8 long stay, article 77). Can anyone advise on how they got their appointment and also what exact documents are needed?

@IBHwood yes but you need witnesses x 2 who are residents of the same village as you. They need to be on the electoral roll having a right to vote.

@IBHwood no new criminal check is required, we are professional visa processors. They only look at this once at VFS or wherever your initial appointment was at.

hello..i am trying to register on the AIMA website to check my AIMA appt. Does anyone know how to register?  I am unable to figure out where to do so. Thank you!

Do you have a url on your D7 stamp in your passport? Its a website address. it should be on the lower right hand side http://:www.agd.sef.pt xxxxxxxx

It actually says above it “Appointment”

you can log onto this website there is a number specific to you (ive put crosses above) please note I have not looked myself but a tax representative did she had to log in with an e mail address and check the appointment was there which it was i think she registered acknowledgement/confirmation but i cant be sure (its my brothers application not mine) Good Luck

@Fear7474 It is a static date. The link on the Visa shows the day/time/location you were given when you received your visa back but appointments can change from time to time and the only way you know is if you check on the AIMA portal (which isn't the URL on the Visa)

Good morning fellow expats, im from the uk and have a nomad visa stamp on my passport. i have an aima apointment on the 20/6/24 for a residence permit however i have no clue what to take to this appointment and what the process is do they give you the residence permit on the spot after? And I’m thinking that I am submitting the same document I did when I applied for the visa in the first place?

I'd suggest just taking everything you can (bank statements, visas, embassy letters, utility bills, even hotel bookings, all in paper form if possible.

I'm in same position for interview on the 06th April.  They asked me for a long list of items a few months ago but I responded by questioning those items but offering (in my view) far better documents of evidence.

I received no reply but I have the interview..

I'd guess if they want another document I do not have with me on the day I can go retrieve on a later date with the provisional " should I present this document, you award the visa, correct? "

It's not an exact science in Portugal.

Good luck, best wishes.

@slugsurmamates thanks, im guessing its just the same process as the original appointment when I applied for the visa Also, I won’t arrive in Portugal until a week before my appointment. Do you think that’s OK?

Yes, a year ago anyway with SEF, it was very similar to the requirements for the D7 visa.  I think I landed a couple days before my appointment.  They gave me a printout receipt that supposedly would stand in for a resident card, but I didn't need to use it;  the card came months later.   Proof of accommodations received some scrutiny, bank statement (note that the statement needs to identify you in some way), health insurance, probably other items I am forgetting.

@IBHwood Atestado de Residência you obtain from your local junta de freguesia.

@slugsurmamates Which documents did they ask you for at your appointment?

@heatherSD,

Documentos Necessários / Required documents (translation required):

https://aima.gov.pt/pt/viver/autorizaca … 77-o-n-o-1

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 42#5388099

(Post #23)

@JohnnyPT Thank you for the link. I have been to the site. I'm on a Job Seeker visa and there is nothing online that tells us what to expect at our AIMA appointment, etc. Sometimes things are different dependent on the visa type. I thought maybe whatever he experienced would be close to what I should expect.

Job seeker visa

https://vistos.mne.gov.pt/en/national-v … eeker-visa

__

+info : New visas

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1006132

Hi All

Update:

My partner and I attended the pre-arranged interview on Friday and all went well .

Despite my previous response email last year within which I informed AIMA/SEF that I could not reasonably be expected to provide the details without qualification, we turned up with plenty of paperwork and evidence.

To our surprise we were asked to fill in a one page form ( essentially an update on NIF/Passport/Address etc) and then was asked " Do you have any evidence to support your application".

I handed over only two, one page documents which were 1. Expression of Wish letter from 2019 , and , 2. Our Union Document which was dated March 2023.

No other documents were requested. No discussion upon the documents we offered.

We were then asked €15 for the process fee and the photos were taken.

Job done.

Informed to expect the Residence Card within a week or two.

Happy.

Please can i ask how you got your appointment?

i cannot get through at all!!!!

@CarrieD

Sure.  In our case we went along to CLAIM in Albufeira.

This is an govt/council office set up to assist in processing applications and give advice.

We attended due to frustration of not being able to gain response by telephone or email beforehand either

Many of us have had years of those frustrations.

Incredibly helpful and knowledgeable at CLAIM, although I do not know if they have offices in other towns.

Can attend by appointment or simply queue on the day.

Situated a few hundred yards from Camara in Albufeira.

They helped by processing our application online. Note that happened in March 2023 and it took until October that year for AIMA (under an SEF Brexit email address!) to contact us.

That email listed the general requirements that they wanted - most of which was not possible or unreasonable as I was out of the country for months. I outlined this and took copies of what I did have and sent with an explanation.

I received no reply until Feb/March 2024 when I was assigned an interview in Faro just last week.

Hope that helps.

Best of luck.

@heatherSD

Here is the response.

In our case it was a Family Reunion Application, myself a UK Citizen with a non-EU partner/applicant. Apparently there are subdivisions of applicants and our category only started being assessed from mid February 2024.

Note:  they were looking for details going back to 2018 in our case - ie 2 years prior to Brexit Withdrawal Agreement December 2020.

Oh, additionally, I received a further email updating and alerting me to the further 2 year requirement that is not within this email (Category Brexit). Luckily, I had evidence of the relationship going that far back, although not in format that was requested (I mean, who sets up joint bank accounts and puts another on a mortgage at initial stages of any relationship?  I had 2 years of joint bank statements evidence and we only set up those bank accounts to appease the likes of SEF.

Hope this assists.

" Dear Sir/Madam,

In order to continue analyse of the application requested for undocumented family member residence under the Withdrawal Agreement, please send us the below documents:

·         Bank statements or utility bills in joint names at the same address from 2020 year

·         Residential mortgage statement or tenancy agreement in joint names from 2020 year

·         Official correspondence that links you at the same address from 2020 year

If you don`t have the below documents proving the existence of your family link previous 2020 we inform that:

If you are a third country national, family member of a British residente in Portugal but the family relationship does not existed before the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, does not apply the Withdrawal Agreement established between the European Union and the United Kingdom, applying the 23/2007 law of July 4th.

For this purpose, you should contact the Call Center for the possibility of providing accurate information on the case in question.

You can do this very working day, from 08:00 to 20:00, by calling +351 217115000 (land line) or + 351 965 903 700 (mobile line)

Best regards,

SEF

Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras

The Immigration and Borders Service

Phone: +351 21 711 50 45. "

@KarenRose

We are getting our D7 stamp next week. Since appts are not via the URL in the visa, what is the URL for the AIMA site and do you create a username and password to use it?

When yoi say you getting your D7 visa next week how do you know this?

Hopefully you will have a URL with a date of AIMA appointment in your passport as if it is not there the process to book an AIMA appointment is poor due to the backlog and very frustrating.

@GuestPoster45

Sorry for delay in answer.  Yes, I think a late arrival will not matter

Update: It is now 5-6 weeks since my partner received temporary document as we await her official ID card.

Hope it arrives before end of June when we leave Portugal for 5 months.  If card notification arrives during that time, she cannot collect it from local office and it will be returned to AIMA.

Also, I doubt if her temporary document will be valid when we plan to return to Portugal which, I suspect, another painful (as always), expensive and time consuming Schengen Visa application from Thailand before we can board a plane.

So, in effect, it may be a full 2 years from applying for Residence and finally receiving the official ID.

@heatherSD

Hi.

In my case they asked for numerous joint bank statements, joint utilities, joint mortgage or rental going over 5-7 years. I responded that I thought it was unreasonable to expect these (they know many rentals in Portugal happen without invoices, and in UK where my home is, it is problematic to put a non - UK resident as an occupier on my home or to get funding etc.  I had bank joint details only going back 2-3 years and also managed to get my partner on my UK utility bills a few years ago.  We had joint rental agreements in Thailand going back for 6 years or so.

We needed NONE of these on the appointment day.

I was asked if I had any evidence and withheld everything apart from a Unification Document that confirmed we had been in relationship since 2018 or so, and also a letter of support that I had written to Portuguese Embassy in Thailand in 2017/2018 when applying for a first Schengen Visa.

No further questions were asked nor documents or further questions, apart from passport ID and a small fee. 

That was the easy part.  Our appointment delayed about 15 minutes in the day and whole process took about an hour at Faro. 

Now we wait for the official ID (we were provided with temporary documentation) before end of June, we hopes, as we fly off for 5 months and to gain entry I guess we might need to go through another awful experience - as we have done over past 6 years or so - of applying for a Schengen Visa to gain entry and to pick up the ID on our return.

@hbinder36 

I  have my D7 travel visa and I fly to Portugal July 1. I have no AIMA appointment in my visa and no url to enter, as some applicants have said was in their visas. I have been told that you simply.must keep calling AIMA and pray that you get through and get an appt eventually.

Re the documents to bring to the appt: passport, NIF, bank statement, completed AIMA form, lease. Everyone agrees on those. Several applicants who have successfully attended their appts quite recently (within the last 2 to 3 months) have told me the document the landlord files with the tax authority MAY be requested. I do have that, which also means I don't need the attestado or visit to the local junta that others have said is required.

The other issue is health insurance. I bought a travel insurance thru VFS valid from my July 2 arrival date until early December 2014. All successful recent applicants said that travel insurance was accepted at the AIMA appt BUT my attorney insists I need a private health insurance to cover the period from. arrival in Portugal until the residency visa is issued.

Can you shed some light on this?

Christine

@Fear7474 I received my travel visa a week ago and there is no appt time or url in my visa.

Hi,

regarding the health insurance question, I have read varying accounts of what is needed. I have travel insurance, my Global health card (I am app from the UK) and a Portuguese health number. In case these are not sufficient (some accounts have said they are and others say it needs to be private cover) I will have a quote ready to accept at my appointment and hopefully that will prevent further delay.

My appointment is 17th July..... I will post on the forum what documents were taken on my return home.

  My appointment is a days journey away from my house (by public transport) despite there being MANY offices MUCH closer to whare I live so I've had to book a hotel for two nights. So i probably won't do the post until couple of days after my return, but I will share the information.

Diane.

I really appreciate your response. I think having a quote prepared to finalize if needed during the appointment is a great suggestion! I look forward to hearing about your appointment!

Hi

No problem. I'll be happy if it can help someone!

Dx

Hi All,

quick question.  did any of you use a Portugese law firm to submit your application/help manage your application and appointment with AIMA?

We didn't use any firms to help apply for our D7 visa in the UK, from Diane