AIMA appointment rescheduled

Non-expert internet input here:  no, neither of those.  If by "start of residency" you mean, the validity dates on your residence card - that will start at the time the card is issued, and the end date will be 2 years after that date (or however many years is the term of your temporary permit.)  That could be months after your interview.  In the meantime you will have an official piece of paper that just indicates you're waiting for the card.

@donn25 thank you so much for your input..

So basically, the date of the start will offically be the date of the issue of the card. Meanwhile the paper that says I am waiting for the card will not have any relevance as the months I need to cover as a pre-requisite...

Until I get the card, I guess I will need to stay in the country no knowing when the card will be issued?

@mayaabouchedid

The start date of the 5 year waiting period is not the date of your visa application.

https://www.valadascoriel.com/reduced-w … tionality/

Your Título de Residência will expire 2 years from it's issue date.

Taru

Now I think by "start of residency" you are looking at the term of residency as related to the rules for maximum absence from Portugal.  I don't know about that.  It may very well correspond to the dates of validity of the título de residência, but that's just the most obvious guess.

The question about entering the country with the piece of paper, is one that I'm pretty sure has come up here.  If you can find that discussion, you may see that people have succeeded with it, but I think that's the best we can do here.  The AIMA interviewer would be more likely to have valid information on that point.

@TaruR

I meant to say that start of residency is now the date of your visa application instead of not.

@mayaabouchedid

The date on your Título de Residencia card will be the date on which you actually sit down with the AIMA people for your initial interview, show your documents and have your photo taken. Your formal residence starts on that date, even though until you receive the card in the mail you will not be about to access the privileges associated with residency.

However, for citizenship purposes that clock started ticking on the date that your application for a residence permit was entered into the consular electronic application system.

There are different clocks.

What happened to you is very bad luck because to my knowledge the AIMA staff will not back-date the card date to the cancelled appointment date.

In the meantime you sit in limbo, without status, until the appointment.

@TaruR Thank you for this information. I appreciate it.

@donn25 Gotcha! Yes, many changes are happening. I think I will really know on the day of my rescheduled interview. Thank you so much. Have a great day!

SEF interviewed me for residence in March, and the start/expire date on my card is June.  Who knows for sure, I can't think of any process here where there aren't multiple competing versions of the real story, but I have to stick with date of card issue.

I suppose it's even possible that if your circumstances make one date a lot better than another, AIMA can even set it to suit your needs.  Explain your situation, rather than asking about start dates and getting tangled up as you did here in the semantics.

@donn25 I will do that. Thank you.

@mayaabouchedid Does anyone know where you go to get a criminal background check as a resident of Portugal? I need it for another visa.

@mayaabouchedid the new date that you meet with them will be what is used on your residency card.

@mayaabouchedid no, the issue date will be the date of your meeting. You might not get your card for 5 months after that.