Answer first. The AIMA contact form — the Formulario de Contacto at contactenos.aima.gov.pt/contact-form — is now the main written channel to reach AIMA, and it only works if you fill it in the way the system expects: validate your email with the code it sends, pick the subject that matches your request (that choice decides which team reads it), enter the identifier the form asks for — your residence-title number, visa number, or process number — write a specific message, and attach between 3 and 5 files of up to 10 MB each when documents are needed. Get the subject or the reference wrong and the message lands in the wrong queue or is closed without a real answer. This guide walks every field in order. For the broader picture of how to reach AIMA at all, start with our contact-centre phone and email guide.
What the Contactenos Form Is and When to Use It
The Contactenos form is AIMA's official online contact channel, and it exists because the agency stopped reliably answering a general email inbox. Instead of writing a free-form email that no one triages, you submit a structured form that routes your request to a named queue according to the subject you select. In practice it is the front door for the everyday things foreign residents need: correcting personal data on a record, asking for a segunda via (duplicate) of a card, sending missing documents into an open process, and certain scheduling questions. It is not a magic fast-track — it is a routing system, and it rewards messages that are filled in precisely and punishes vague ones.
Use the form when your matter is written and document-based rather than urgent and verbal. If you need to change an address, submit a document an officer asked for, report an error on your card, or chase a specific process, the form is the correct tool, and it produces a dated acknowledgement you can keep as evidence of contact. It is not the right tool for booking a first appointment from scratch (those go through the scheduling channels) or for checking where your application stands day to day — for that, use the portal status view described in our AIMA status-check guide. Reserve the form for a concrete request that names a queue, and you will get far more out of it than people who treat it as a suggestion box. Portuguese press noted when AIMA launched the online form that its options are deliberately limited (Diario de Noticias Brasil), so choosing the closest matching subject is part of the skill.
Step 1: Email and the Validation Code
The first thing the form does is verify your email address, and nothing else you type will submit until you clear this step. You enter your email, the system sends a numeric validation code to that address, and you type the code back into the form to prove the inbox is yours. Use an email you actually monitor, because AIMA's reply and its acknowledgement both go to this same address — not to a portal message centre. If the code does not arrive within a couple of minutes, check spam, confirm you typed the address correctly, and request a fresh code rather than guessing; each code is short-lived and single-use.
Small choices here have consequences later. Use one consistent email for all of your AIMA dealings so your contact history is in a single place and an officer can see prior threads; switching addresses between messages fragments your record and makes follow-up harder. If you are helping a family member, use their email where the request is about their process and their identifiers, so the reply reaches the person who owns the case. Once the code is accepted, the rest of the fields unlock — and everything from that point depends on the subject you pick next, so slow down before you click through it.
Step 2: Choosing the Right Subject (Assunto)
The subject field is the single most important choice on the form, because it decides which AIMA team receives your message. This is not a cosmetic label — a request filed under the wrong subject can be closed by a team that cannot act on it, with no useful reply, forcing you to start again. For residence-permit holders the two everyday options are data changes (alteracao de dados) and requesting a segunda via (duplicate copy) of a card; both then ask you to complete the same identification fields, including the residence-title number. There are distinct paths for sending documents into an existing process and a separate flow entirely for CPLP visa holders.
Read every option before selecting, and match the subject to what you are actually asking for, not to what feels closest at a glance. If you are submitting a document an officer requested, use the document-submission path so it attaches to your file rather than the data-change path, which routes elsewhere. If you are a CPLP visa holder, use the CPLP option, which validates against your visa number. When no option is a perfect fit, choose the nearest and make the message body do the disambiguating work — state in the first line exactly what you need. Getting this field right is what separates a message that gets worked from one that is quietly closed; our template for writing a Contactenos message shows how to phrase the body once the subject is set.
Step 3: The Identification Fields — Residence Title or Visa Number
After the subject, the form asks who you are, and the mandatory identifier depends on your category. Residence-permit holders complete the standard set — full name, phone contact, and, critically, the residence-title number (the number printed on your card or on your renewal correspondence). CPLP visa holders instead give a mandatory visa number alongside full name and phone. These identifiers are how AIMA locates your record, so a typo here is as damaging as an empty field: the officer either cannot find you or matches you to the wrong file. Copy the number directly from the document rather than typing it from memory, and double-check the digits before moving on.
Fill in every field the form presents, even ones that feel redundant, because an incomplete identification block is a standard reason a request is returned unactioned. The phone number matters more than people expect: AIMA sometimes calls for a quick clarification instead of writing, and an unreachable number can stall an otherwise valid request. Use a Portuguese mobile if you have one, and a number you answer. If your name on the card differs from your current legal name (after a marriage, for example), enter the name exactly as it appears on the AIMA record and explain the discrepancy in the message body, so the identifier still matches while you flag the change.
Step 4: The Process Number and the Message Body
Where the form asks for a process number (numero de processo) — most notably on the document-submission path — supply it, because it links your message straight to your open case. The process number is printed on the comprovativo (receipt) you received when you applied, and on portal correspondence about your file. Entering it lets the officer open your process and act without first having to identify who you are, which measurably speeds up handling. If you genuinely do not have a process number, fall back to the residence-title or visa number and say in the message which identifier you are giving and why the process number is unavailable — do not leave the officer to guess.
The message body should be short, specific, and self-contained. Lead with a one-sentence statement of exactly what you want (“I am submitting the two documents requested in the notification dated X for process Y”), then give only the facts that support it: dates, reference numbers, and what you have attached. Avoid a long narrative of your whole immigration history — the officer needs the request, not the backstory. Write in Portuguese where you can, as it routes and reads faster internally, though English is generally understood; keep a tone that is factual and neutral. If you are chasing silence rather than making a document request, our guide to what to do when AIMA has not responded in six months covers how to frame that firmly without it being dismissed.
Step 5: Attaching Documents (the 3-to-5 File Rule)
When your request involves documents, the form sets clear limits: attach between 3 and 5 files, each up to 10 MB. Send proper scanned copies of the requested documents, not phone photos of a screen or a crooked page, because unreadable attachments are a frequent reason a submission is bounced back. Name each file so its content is obvious — for example “passport.pdf”, “NIF.pdf”, “proof-of-address.pdf” — so the officer does not have to open each one to know what it is. Before you submit, open every file yourself to confirm it is the right document, the right way up, and legible end to end.
If your documents exceed the file count or size, consolidate rather than abandon: merge related pages (for instance, all pages of one document) into a single PDF, and compress large scans so each stays under 10 MB. Do not split one document across multiple messages — keep a single request complete in one submission, because a second form on the same matter creates a duplicate that confuses the queue and pushes you back. If a locked or broken form field is stopping you from attaching at all, that is a known category of problem; our write-up on the locked Contactenos form for family reunification shows the workaround pattern of documenting the fault and escalating rather than repeatedly resubmitting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the AIMA contact form the same as sending an email?
No. The Contactenos form replaces open-ended email for most matters. A plain email to a general address is unlikely to be triaged, whereas the form routes your message to a specific team based on the subject you choose and produces a dated acknowledgement. Treat the form as the official written channel and reserve phone contact for urgent verbal matters. If you have both a phone and a form option for the same issue, the form is usually the one that leaves a paper trail, which is what you want if the case may later need escalation.
What if none of the subject options fit my situation?
Pick the closest available subject and use the message body to make your actual request unmistakable in the first line. The subject controls routing, so choose the team most likely to be able to act, then remove any ambiguity in the text. Deliberately vague subjects and mismatched routing are why many messages get closed without help. If your matter genuinely spans two teams, send it under the more urgent one and mention the second, rather than opening two separate forms that split your history.
How long does AIMA take to reply to the form?
There is no guaranteed turnaround, and the queue is slow, so allow a reasonable period before following up. The acknowledgement you receive on submission is confirmation the message was received, not that it has been read by an officer. Chasing too early, or opening a fresh form on the same issue, does not speed things up and can reset your place; reply on the existing thread or quote the original message reference instead. Keep every acknowledgement, because the dates build the contact record you may need later.
Can I use the form to book my first appointment?
The form is built for written requests tied to an existing situation — data changes, duplicates, document submission, and defined scheduling matters — rather than for creating a first appointment out of nothing. First appointments run through AIMA's scheduling channels. If your subject list does not offer a booking option that fits, that is a signal the form is not the right tool for that specific need. For an overview of every route to reach the agency and which one suits which problem, see our complete guide to contacting AIMA.
Should I write to AIMA in Portuguese or English?
Portuguese is preferable where you can manage it, because it routes and reads faster internally and reduces the chance of a request being set aside for translation. English is generally understood, so do not stay silent for lack of perfect Portuguese — a clear English message beats a confused Portuguese one. Whichever language you use, keep the message short and factual, lead with the request, and cite your reference numbers. A bilingual one-liner stating your request up front, followed by the detail, is a safe compromise when you are unsure.