Where the Backlog Stood and Where It Is Now
At the start of 2025, AIMA was sitting on a Golden Visa backlog estimated at over 400,000 pending applications across all categories. The figure included primary applicants from the 2022 and 2023 cohorts who had submitted complete files but had not been called to biometrics, plus the family-member dependants whose own residence permits could not be issued until the primary applicant cleared. The Golden Visa community had spent two years watching this number grow with mounting frustration.
By early 2026, AIMA had cut the figure substantially. Best Citizenships reported in February 2026 that the agency had reduced the backlog to approximately 45,000-50,000 outstanding GV applications. The reduction was driven by a combination of measures: a fast-track triage system implemented in late 2024 that separated incomplete files from substantively-ready ones; reinforcement of the GV unit with new legal staff; an increase in AIMA's overall service capacity to roughly 6,000 appointments per day across all permit categories; and the September 2025 chronological-resubmission rule that imposed a defensible queue order on the backlog.
The reduction is real but uneven. Industry sources covering the GV market — Global Citizen Solutions, The Golden Portugal, latitudeworld.com — consistently report that biometric scheduling is moving faster for 2022-2024 cohort applicants in 2026 than it had at any point since AIMA replaced SEF. Most primary applicants from this cohort can expect biometric notifications during the first half of 2026, with the appointment itself scheduled 30 to 90 days after the notification.
How the New Chronological Queue Works
The September 2025 procedural change altered how AIMA orders the GV queue. Under the previous logic, the queue was nominally ordered by application date but in practice was processed in batches that depended on staff availability, regional office capacity, and substantive case complexity. The new logic is chronological by the date of the most recent qualifying update to the case file. A file submitted in 2022 but with no supplementation since then has an "update date" of 2022 and sits earlier in the queue than a file submitted in 2021 but supplemented in 2024.
The rule's stated purpose is fairness: applicants who have responded to every AIMA request promptly are not penalised for the agency's delays in returning to their file. In practice, the rule reorders the queue to favour applicants whose cases have been administratively quiet since their last action. This advantages 2022-2024 applicants who completed their original submission cleanly and have not been asked for additional documents since.
The rule disadvantages applicants whose cases have been actively resubmitted recently — typically because AIMA requested supplementary documents (a fresh criminal record certificate, an updated investment confirmation, a corrected family-member document). Each resubmission resets the update date forward. Applicants in this position are not necessarily wrong to have responded promptly, but the queue mechanics now mean their wait extends. The procedural lesson going forward is to assemble each supplementary submission carefully and avoid multiple incremental updates that each push the date forward.
The 30 to 90 Day Notification Window
AIMA's current notification cadence for GV biometrics is 30 to 90 days before the appointment date. The notification appears in the applicant's AIMA portal account and arrives via email to the registered address. Both channels typically receive the notification at the same time. The window length depends on the regional office and the appointment date offered: smaller offices with less capacity tend to give longer notice; larger offices in Lisbon and Porto often give 30-45 days.
For applicants based outside Portugal — common for GV holders before the residence card is issued — the 30-day end of the window is tight. Booking flights, requesting time off, and arranging local Portuguese accommodation around a biometric appointment with 30 days notice is logistically demanding. Most applicants who travel from abroad target the longer end of the window, which means accepting the first appointment offered and treating the 30-day case as a fallback. The system does not allow indefinite rescheduling; one or two reschedule requests are typically tolerated, but repeatedly declining offered slots can move the case back in the queue.
The notification email is the legal trigger for the appointment obligation. Failure to attend without prior reschedule communication can result in the case being suspended, which then requires a separate procedural action to reactivate. The reactivation is straightforward (a written request through contactenos.aima.gov.pt explaining the reason for non-attendance and requesting a fresh appointment) but it adds weeks to the timeline. Applicants should treat the email as procedurally important the moment it arrives.
What Controls Your Position: Application Update Date
For applicants checking the AIMA portal trying to predict where they sit in the queue, the relevant data point is the "última actualização" date (last update date) on the case file. This date is visible in the portal under the case status view. The date reflects the most recent qualifying update — typically the latest document submission, the latest AIMA decision step, or the latest applicant response to a request. It is not the original submission date.
Applicants whose update date is from 2022 or 2023 sit closer to the front of the current notification batch. Applicants whose update date is from late 2024 or 2025 sit further back. Applicants whose update date is recent (early 2026) — for example, because they responded to a document request in February or March — are typically in the next-batch range, with notifications expected in the second half of 2026 rather than the first.
For applicants who have a 2025 update date but believe their substantive case has been ready for years, the option is a procedural complaint. A formal request through contactenos.aima.gov.pt asking AIMA to recognise the case as ready and to apply the original submission date for queue purposes can succeed in narrow circumstances — typically where the latest update was triggered by an AIMA error rather than a substantive deficiency. Engaging counsel for this kind of request is usually justified given the stakes. We covered the threshold for when to engage a lawyer in our piece on legal counsel.
What to Bring to the Biometric Appointment
The biometric appointment itself is a brief identity-confirmation procedure. The agent captures the applicant's fingerprints, signature, and photograph, which together populate the chip and visible information on the physical residence card. The session typically takes 20-30 minutes per primary applicant, plus an equivalent time for each accompanying family member. The agent does not re-examine the substantive case at this stage; the document review for substantive eligibility happened before the appointment letter was issued.
The standard document set for the appointment is: original passport (the agent verifies the bearer matches), the AIMA appointment letter printed, proof of accommodation in Portugal (lease contract with Finanças stamp, hotel reservation acceptable for the appointment day, or the residence-related supporting document already in the file), NIF and NISS confirmations, original investment proof (the GV fund subscription confirmation, qualifying donation receipt, or other category-specific documentation), and any AIMA correspondence in the case file. The agent does not always request all these documents, but having them ready avoids any rescheduling if the agent does ask.
Family members appearing for biometrics with the primary applicant need their own document set: passport, relationship documentation (marriage certificate apostilled and translated, birth certificate apostilled and translated for children), and the AIMA appointment letter for the dependant. Each family member is captured separately, and the dependants' residence cards are issued downstream of the primary applicant's card. Our piece on the full AIMA document checklist covers the document set in more detail.
What to Do If Your Letter Does Not Arrive
For 2022-2024 GV applicants who are inside the cohort that should be receiving notifications during H1 2026 but have not received an appointment letter, the practical question is when to escalate. The answer depends on the case's most recent update date and the regional office handling the file. The general benchmark: if the case received approval-in-principle (the GV substantive approval) more than 6 months ago and no biometric appointment has been scheduled, that is a fact pattern warranting formal complaint.
File the complaint through contactenos.aima.gov.pt. Reference the case number, the approval-in-principle date, the most recent update date, and the elapsed time. Cite Article 161 of the Code of Administrative Procedure (right to a timely process). Request a written explanation of the case status and an estimated appointment date. Attach a copy of the approval-in-principle letter as evidence. The contact form has been more reliable since AIMA's April 2026 operational improvements; submissions filed correctly typically receive a substantive response within 30 days.
If 30 days pass without a substantive response, escalate to the Provedor de Justiça with the same documentary record plus a copy of the unanswered complaint. Past 9 months from the original GV approval, an Article 87-B judicial subpoena under the Foreigners Act becomes available; this requires a Portuguese lawyer to file but produces a court-ordered priority that AIMA must comply with within statutory timelines. The PJ corruption investigation at AIMA Açores — covered in our companion post on Operação Linha Direta — has heightened the agency's responsiveness to documented complaints; cases escalated through legitimate channels in May and June 2026 are likely to receive more substantive attention than they would have in earlier periods.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much has AIMA cleared from the Golden Visa backlog?
From 400,000+ pending cases at the start of 2025 to approximately 45,000-50,000 by early 2026. Driven by fast-track triage, additional GV unit staff, increased capacity to 6,000 appointments per day, and the September 2025 chronological-resubmission rule.
When will my biometric letter arrive?
AIMA notifies applicants 30 to 90 days before the appointment. Notification arrives in the AIMA portal and via email. Order is chronological by the case's most recent qualifying update date. Most 2022-2024 GV primary applicants in good standing should receive notifications during H1 2026.
What is the chronological order based on?
The "última actualização" (last update date) on the case file. Most recent date the applicant resubmitted, supplemented, or responded to AIMA. A 2022 file with no recent supplementation has a 2022 update date; a 2021 file supplemented in 2024 has a 2024 update date.
What documents do I bring?
Original passport, printed appointment letter, proof of accommodation, NIF and NISS, original investment proof, any AIMA correspondence. Family members need their own passports and apostilled relationship documentation.
What if my letter does not arrive within 6 months of approval-in-principle?
File a complaint through contactenos.aima.gov.pt referencing CPA Article 161; copy Provedor de Justiça after 30 days; pursue Article 87-B judicial subpoena past 9 months. The PJ corruption story has heightened AIMA's responsiveness to documented complaints filed now.