Volume 1 · 2026
Published August 1, 2026
AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo) replaced SEF in October 2023. Two years on, processing times remain the single most-asked question from people who have submitted their visa and are waiting to receive their residence permit card. Official estimates are rarely published and often do not match reality.
This report compiles real wait times from our clients' cases — from biometrics appointment to residence permit card delivery — broken down by AIMA regional office, visa type, and period. It also documents how wait times have changed month by month since AIMA's formation, as the agency works through the backlog inherited from SEF.
Key numbers
4.8mo
Avg. AIMA processing (all)
Oct 2023–Jun 2026
2.1mo
Fastest region (Algarve)
Faro office
8.3mo
Slowest region (Lisbon)
High volume backlog
312
Cases tracked
Oct 2023–Jun 2026
6wks
Avg. biometrics appointment wait
From AIMA portal
↓31%
Processing time improvement
vs Oct 2023 baseline
AIMA processing times by regional office (months)
Processing time varies dramatically by regional office. Lisbon and Porto, which handle the highest application volumes, have the longest waits. Smaller regional offices — particularly in the Algarve and Centro regions — process permits significantly faster. Where possible, applicants with flexibility in their registered address municipality can benefit from choosing a location served by a faster office.
Algarve (Faro)
Fastest — lower volume
Norte (Porto)
High volume
Lisboa (Lisbon)
Slowest — highest volume
Median values from 312 cases Oct 2023–Jun 2026. Processing time = biometrics appointment to card delivery. Cases without a biometrics appointment date excluded.
How AIMA processing times have changed since launch (months)
AIMA launched in October 2023 with a significant backlog inherited from the former SEF. Processing times peaked in early 2024 and have since improved steadily as AIMA increased staffing and digitised more of its workflow.
Oct–Dec 2023
Launch period — peak backlog
All visa types combined. National median. Source: Visas.pt case data. Improvement trend may not continue at same rate as backlog clears.
AIMA processing times by visa type and region (months, 2026)
The combination of visa type and AIMA regional office determines your likely wait time more accurately than either factor alone.
| AIMA office |
D7 |
D8 |
D2 |
Golden Visa |
EU Reg. |
| Algarve (Faro) |
1.8 |
2.1 |
1.9 |
10.2 |
0.3 |
| Centro (Coimbra) |
2.4 |
2.8 |
2.5 |
11.4 |
0.4 |
| Alentejo (Évora) |
2.9 |
3.3 |
3.1 |
12.1 |
0.3 |
| Norte (Braga) |
3.5 |
4.0 |
3.7 |
13.8 |
0.5 |
| Norte (Porto) |
4.9 |
5.6 |
5.2 |
15.4 |
0.7 |
| Setúbal |
5.5 |
6.1 |
5.9 |
16.2 |
0.8 |
| Lisboa (Lisbon) |
7.4 |
8.6 |
7.9 |
18.9 |
1.2 |
Golden Visa processing significantly longer due to additional verification steps for fund-based investment permits. EU Registration processed at Câmara Municipal — not AIMA — hence faster times. Figures are medians; individual cases vary.
What you can and cannot do while waiting for your AIMA card
This is one of the most practically important questions for people who have submitted their application and are waiting. The answer changed when AIMA introduced the Manifestação de Interesse (expression of interest) system and, subsequently, when the Agenda Unica appointment booking system launched.
What you can do while waiting: travel within the Schengen Area on your visa stamp (valid for up to 4 months after entry), work legally if your visa authorises it, open a bank account (you should already have one — if not, do it now), and sign rental contracts.
What you cannot do: leave and re-enter Portugal freely on a long-stay visa stamp once it has expired — you need either a valid visa stamp or the AIMA residence card. If your visa stamp expires before your card arrives, you must obtain an AIMA Agendamento letter confirming your appointment is booked, which serves as a bridging document.
The bridging letter situation is one of the most stressful aspects of the AIMA wait for our clients. We proactively obtain this documentation for all clients whose card issuance is likely to extend beyond their visa stamp validity.
AIMA Agendamento letter validity: typically accepted for 60 days by Portuguese border authorities but not universally recognised by other Schengen countries as a re-entry document.
Methodology & data sources
Data covers AIMA processing times recorded from client cases managed by Visas.pt between October 2023 and June 2026. Processing time = calendar days from biometrics appointment date to residence permit card delivery date. AIMA office assigned based on applicant's registered address municipality. Cases where biometrics appointment was missed or rescheduled excluded. Sample size: 312 AIMA residence permit issuances across the period.
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