Why AIMA Status Labels Confuse Everyone
The AIMA portal was not designed with applicant communication in mind. It was built as a case management tool for internal use and adapted for public access. The result is a system where the same case can appear in different states depending on which AIMA portal you check, where the status labels are in Portuguese with no explanation, and where "no change" and "actively processing" look identical from the applicant's side.
The confusion is compounded by the fact that AIMA operates three distinct portals: the Renewal Portal (portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt) for online renewal submissions, the services portal (services.aima.gov.pt) for appointment management and case tracking, and the contactenos portal for enquiries. Your case may show as active on one and invisible on another, which does not indicate a problem — it reflects which system holds the relevant data at each stage.
This guide focuses on the status sequence that applicants see through the services portal and the renewal portal, which together cover the stages most people encounter. Where status labels differ between portals, that is noted explicitly.
Stage 1: Submission Received and Under Review
The first status you see after submitting a renewal application is a confirmation of receipt — sometimes labelled "submissão recebida" (submission received) or "pedido registado" (request registered). This confirms AIMA's system has your file. It is not yet under review by a human officer; it is in the intake queue.
The next label, "em análise" (under analysis), is the first active stage. It means an AIMA officer has opened your file and is reviewing the documents you submitted. This is when document completeness matters most — AIMA's strict complete-file rule introduced in April 2025 means that a single missing document at this stage can result in outright rejection rather than a request to supplement. If you submitted digitally through the Renewal Portal, the system may automatically flag missing documents before they reach a human reviewer, but this check is not exhaustive.
Typical timeline at this stage: 4 to 12 weeks from submission acknowledgement to either a biometrics scheduling notification or an "informação adicional solicitada" (additional information requested) communication. If you are at "em análise" for more than 3 months with no document request and no appointment scheduled, submit a written enquiry through contactenos.aima.gov.pt. The enquiry does not accelerate processing, but it creates a dated record of your outreach and AIMA's response, which is legally important if you later file a court action.
If you receive an "informação adicional" request: Respond within the deadline stated in the communication, which is typically 10 to 20 working days. Missing this deadline can result in your application being refused or archived. If you cannot understand the document request, get a translation before the deadline — do not guess at what is being asked.
Stage 2: Awaiting Biometric Appointment
Once the document review is complete, your case moves to the biometrics scheduling stage. Status labels here include "aguarda agendamento biométrico" (awaiting biometric scheduling) or, in older cases, "aguarda convocatória" (awaiting summons). This stage means AIMA has accepted your documents and needs you to attend an in-person appointment to submit fingerprints and a photograph for the residence card.
Current scheduling timelines in mid-2026: For renewal applicants processing through the online portal, biometric appointments are generally being scheduled 6 to 10 weeks after the file clears the document review stage. For first-time applicants who arrived on a D-visa and are booking their first AIMA appointment, timelines vary significantly by location — Lisbon AIMA offices tend to run 10 to 16 weeks out, while offices in smaller cities like Braga, Évora, or Faro often have slots available within 4 to 8 weeks. Requesting an appointment at a location other than your nearest office is permitted and can materially reduce your wait.
If you are stuck at "aguarda agendamento" for more than 4 months: This is unusual for portal-submitted renewals in mid-2026 but occurs for cases with unresolved data issues or cases inherited from the pre-2025 queue. Use the contactenos portal to formally request appointment scheduling and reference the date your document review completed. In some cases, AIMA's contactenos team can manually escalate appointment scheduling for cases with documented long waits.
What happens at the appointment: You attend the AIMA office at the scheduled time, present your passport and the appointment confirmation, provide fingerprints for all ten digits, and have a photograph taken. The appointment itself takes approximately 15 to 30 minutes if the queue is managed correctly. You will receive a document confirming the appointment was completed — keep this, as it marks the start of the decision countdown. After the appointment, your case status moves to the next stage.
Stage 3: Under Decision — The Critical Wait
After your biometric appointment, your case enters the decision stage. Status labels include "em decisão" (under decision) or "aguarda decisão" (awaiting decision) — both mean the same thing: the biometrics have been processed, your file is complete, and AIMA now has to issue a formal approval or refusal.
This is the stage that accounts for the most frustration and the majority of legal complaints. The statutory maximum for most residence permit decisions is 90 days from the date the file was flagged as complete at the biometric appointment. In practice, for straightforward cases in mid-2026, decisions are issuing in 6 to 10 weeks after the appointment. For cases that entered the system before 2025 or that have any complexity flag, the same "aguarda decisão" label may persist for 6 to 9 months.
As immigration lawyers at LVP Advogados have noted, the "aguarda decisão" stage is "procedurally distinct from the two more commonly discussed AIMA delay patterns — no appointment yet, and card stuck at print after approval." The fact that you have completed your appointment and are awaiting a decision means you are past the AIMA intake bottleneck. You are now in the substantive review queue, and different remedies apply than at earlier stages.
What to do if you are at "aguarda decisão" for more than 4 months: At the 4-month mark after your appointment, the statutory deadline has almost certainly passed for your permit type. The most effective remedy is an administrative court intimação para a prática de acto devido — a legal demand that AIMA issue a decision within a court-set deadline, typically 30 to 60 days. This requires an immigration lawyer but is not prohibitively expensive and has a high success rate with Portuguese administrative courts, which have been granting these orders routinely in 2025 and 2026. Do not wait past the one-year mark from when the statutory deadline expired — that closes the filing window.
Stage 4: In Production and Sent to Print
Once AIMA issues a positive decision, your case moves to the card production phase. You will see status labels "aprovado" (approved), followed shortly by "em produção" (in production) and then "enviado para impressão" (sent to printing). These three labels can appear within hours or days of each other — they represent AIMA's internal approval confirmation, the card production order being generated, and the order being dispatched to the Imprensa Nacional (Portugal's national printing facility), respectively.
What "em produção" does not mean: It does not mean your card has been printed yet. It means the production order is in the queue at Imprensa Nacional. The physical printing typically happens within 2 to 3 weeks of the order arriving. After printing, the card is dispatched to CTT for delivery.
Typical timeline: From "aprovado" status to "enviado para impressão": 1 to 3 weeks. From dispatch to CTT delivery: 1 to 3 weeks, depending on your address. Total time from approval decision to card in hand: typically 4 to 8 weeks in mid-2026. This is an improvement over 2024 timelines when production queues ran 10 to 16 weeks.
If you are stuck at "em produção" for more than 8 weeks: Contact AIMA through the contactenos portal to verify the delivery address on file is correct and to confirm the card has been dispatched. Misdelivered or undelivered cards are a separate and unfortunately common problem — if your card went to a previous address or was returned to sender by CTT, you will need to follow the recovery procedure, which is covered in detail in our guide on residence cards delivered to the wrong address.
Stage 5: Card Dispatched and CTT Delivery
The final status before your case closes is "cartão expedido" (card dispatched) or similar — confirming CTT has received the card for delivery. At this point, AIMA's involvement effectively ends. CTT will attempt delivery at the address AIMA has on file. If you are not home, CTT will leave a collection notice; you typically have 15 working days to collect from your local post office before the card is returned to AIMA.
Important address verification step: Before your case reaches production, confirm that the address registered in the AIMA system is your current, accurate address. Changing address after this point requires a separate AIMA update process that can delay delivery significantly. Check the address shown in the portal when your case moves to "em decisão" — that is when AIMA locks the delivery address for production.
If your case shows "cartão expedido" but you have not received anything after 3 weeks: Check with your local CTT office first. Bring your NIF and identification — Portuguese post offices will sometimes have parcels held under your fiscal number even if no notice was left. If the card was returned to sender, you will need to submit a new delivery address through AIMA's contactenos portal and request reshipment. This process takes 2 to 6 weeks from the request.
Once you receive your card and verify the details are correct (name spelling, date of birth, validity dates, permit type), your case is closed. AIMA's portal will show a completed status. Keep the card safe — replacement takes weeks and requires going through a separate AIMA request process.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "em análise" mean in the AIMA portal?
"Em análise" (under analysis) means an AIMA officer has opened your file and is reviewing the documents you submitted. This stage typically lasts 4 to 12 weeks for renewal portal submissions. If it extends beyond 3 months without any request for additional documents or a biometrics appointment, submit a formal written enquiry through contactenos.aima.gov.pt.
What does "aguarda decisão" mean and how long should it last?
"Aguarda decisão" (awaiting decision) means your biometric appointment is complete and the case is with a decision-maker at AIMA. The statutory maximum for most permit decisions is 90 days from when your file was flagged complete. In mid-2026, clean cases resolve in 6 to 10 weeks; complex or backlog cases can sit here for 6 to 9 months. More than 4 months after your appointment is the threshold for considering a court intimação.
What does "em produção" mean and how long until my card arrives?
"Em produção" (in production) means your application was approved and the card production order has been sent to Imprensa Nacional. From this status to physical card delivery, expect 4 to 8 weeks in mid-2026. You will receive a CTT tracking notification when the card is dispatched.
My AIMA portal status has not changed in 90 days. What should I do?
Identify which stage you are at, then act accordingly. Stuck at "em análise": submit a contactenos enquiry requesting biometric appointment scheduling. Stuck at "aguarda decisão" for more than 4 months: consult an immigration lawyer about an administrative court intimação. Stuck at "em produção" for more than 8 weeks: verify the delivery address via contactenos and check with CTT.
Does the AIMA portal show status for both first-time applications and renewals?
Yes, but across different portals. Renewals submitted through portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt are tracked there. First-time applications and biometric appointment management are handled through services.aima.gov.pt. Enquiries and their responses are tracked in contactenos.aima.gov.pt. Checking all three gives a more complete picture than relying on any single portal.