Appointment with AIMA

@IBHwood       No to all 4 questions.  I had my AIMA app't on Feb 5th and all she asked to see was my passport, D7, Attestado, and lease agreement.  Nothing else.  She fingerprinted and took a photo and that was it.  The NISS was asked for but all I had was a confirmation from Pt. Social Security that I had applied for the number online and so I am waiting to receive word back from them.

@IBHwood

Thank you very much.

A last question: what document is the Attestado?.

Once you move into your Portuguese apartment, house whatever....(wherever you plan to stay for a while and receive mail...) you need to go down to your local junta or local parish (municipal gov't office) with your lease or document/title if owning, and register that you are now living and residing in Portugal.  It costs about 5 euros to register, you then have to wait a couple of days and they will type you up an official looking document that you can use for AIMA, NISS, SNS, and the drivers license exchange.  This also allowed us to prove to Financas that we now live in Portugal and they switched our NIF address from our US address to our Portuguese address which in turn allowed us to apply for and get approved for the NHR.

Brilliant!! Thanks again @bill85lisa

This must be a pretty good example of how different people's experiences can be when encountering the same bureaucracy on different days or in different places.  In my experience, for an atestado de residência, at the junta, they didn't review any document, but rather relied on some other resident to confirm it, and they issued it on the spot.

Then at the SEF review, they didn't ask for it.  The only use I had for it, was for customs import of our household belongings (at which point I had to get a new one, to suit the importer's idea of what date it should bear - luckily they could be talked into it, don't know how important this is to customs.)

I don't recall presenting any criminal record document.  We submitted those in their unopened envelope at the time of requesting the D7 visa, and never saw them again.

Don't need NISS, just NIF.

@bill85lisa

Please let me know After biometric in AIMA how many days the TRC card should be received , Did you get the TRC card  ?

It is a bit inconsistent, causing some stress to those applying.  It seems it depends on who sees you on the day.

But I cannot complain really. I am the one who want to live in their country, so adapting to the good and the not so good and the different, it is certainly  a first step for a smooth beginning and a wonderful life under the sun,  with many other positives.

I can only hope I am seeing by somebody who asks for exactly what I am taking.

I appreciate any feedback from those who have been through the process already. Thanks..

@h9654004745

We have not received our Resident cards yet and don't expect to for a while.  Some people have waited 3-6 months to receive them, others receive them in as little as 5-6 weeks.  I guess it depends where you live and how busy they are.  Patience is a necessity here in Portugal and that's fine with me.  We are simply guests here and the wheels of progress turn very slowly.  You just have to trust the process.

I can also add I have been waiting for my resident card since November, you just have to wait and enjoy this beautiful country.

I am still waiting for my AIMA appointment since November (D8 long stay, article 77). Can anyone advise on how they got their appointment and also what exact documents are needed?

@IBHwood yes but you need witnesses x 2 who are residents of the same village as you. They need to be on the electoral roll having a right to vote.

@IBHwood no new criminal check is required, we are professional visa processors. They only look at this once at VFS or wherever your initial appointment was at.

hello..i am trying to register on the AIMA website to check my AIMA appt. Does anyone know how to register?  I am unable to figure out where to do so. Thank you!

Do you have a url on your D7 stamp in your passport? Its a website address. it should be on the lower right hand side http://:www.agd.sef.pt xxxxxxxx

It actually says above it “Appointment”

you can log onto this website there is a number specific to you (ive put crosses above) please note I have not looked myself but a tax representative did she had to log in with an e mail address and check the appointment was there which it was i think she registered acknowledgement/confirmation but i cant be sure (its my brothers application not mine) Good Luck

@Fear7474 It is a static date. The link on the Visa shows the day/time/location you were given when you received your visa back but appointments can change from time to time and the only way you know is if you check on the AIMA portal (which isn't the URL on the Visa)

Good morning fellow expats, im from the uk and have a nomad visa stamp on my passport. i have an aima apointment on the 20/6/24 for a residence permit however i have no clue what to take to this appointment and what the process is do they give you the residence permit on the spot after? And I'm thinking that I am submitting the same document I did when I applied for the visa in the first place?

I'd suggest just taking everything you can (bank statements, visas, embassy letters, utility bills, even hotel bookings, all in paper form if possible.

I'm in same position for interview on the 06th April.  They asked me for a long list of items a few months ago but I responded by questioning those items but offering (in my view) far better documents of evidence.

I received no reply but I have the interview..

I'd guess if they want another document I do not have with me on the day I can go retrieve on a later date with the provisional " should I present this document, you award the visa, correct? "

It's not an exact science in Portugal.

Good luck, best wishes.

@slugsurmamates thanks, im guessing its just the same process as the original appointment when I applied for the visa Also, I won't arrive in Portugal until a week before my appointment. Do you think that's OK?

Yes, a year ago anyway with SEF, it was very similar to the requirements for the D7 visa.  I think I landed a couple days before my appointment.  They gave me a printout receipt that supposedly would stand in for a resident card, but I didn't need to use it;  the card came months later.   Proof of accommodations received some scrutiny, bank statement (note that the statement needs to identify you in some way), health insurance, probably other items I am forgetting.

@IBHwood Atestado de Residência you obtain from your local junta de freguesia.

@slugsurmamates Which documents did they ask you for at your appointment?

@heatherSD,

Documentos Necessários / Required documents (translation required):

https://aima.gov.pt/pt/viver/autorizaca … 77-o-n-o-1

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 42#5388099

(Post #23)

@JohnnyPT Thank you for the link. I have been to the site. I'm on a Job Seeker visa and there is nothing online that tells us what to expect at our AIMA appointment, etc. Sometimes things are different dependent on the visa type. I thought maybe whatever he experienced would be close to what I should expect.

Job seeker visa

https://vistos.mne.gov.pt/en/national-v … eeker-visa

__

+info : New visas

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1006132

Hi All

Update:

My partner and I attended the pre-arranged interview on Friday and all went well .

Despite my previous response email last year within which I informed AIMA/SEF that I could not reasonably be expected to provide the details without qualification, we turned up with plenty of paperwork and evidence.

To our surprise we were asked to fill in a one page form ( essentially an update on NIF/Passport/Address etc) and then was asked " Do you have any evidence to support your application".

I handed over only two, one page documents which were 1. Expression of Wish letter from 2019 , and , 2. Our Union Document which was dated March 2023.

No other documents were requested. No discussion upon the documents we offered.

We were then asked €15 for the process fee and the photos were taken.

Job done.

Informed to expect the Residence Card within a week or two.

Happy.

Please can i ask how you got your appointment?

i cannot get through at all!!!!

@CarrieD

Sure.  In our case we went along to CLAIM in Albufeira.

This is an govt/council office set up to assist in processing applications and give advice.

We attended due to frustration of not being able to gain response by telephone or email beforehand either

Many of us have had years of those frustrations.

Incredibly helpful and knowledgeable at CLAIM, although I do not know if they have offices in other towns.

Can attend by appointment or simply queue on the day.

Situated a few hundred yards from Camara in Albufeira.

They helped by processing our application online. Note that happened in March 2023 and it took until October that year for AIMA (under an SEF Brexit email address!) to contact us.

That email listed the general requirements that they wanted - most of which was not possible or unreasonable as I was out of the country for months. I outlined this and took copies of what I did have and sent with an explanation.

I received no reply until Feb/March 2024 when I was assigned an interview in Faro just last week.

Hope that helps.

Best of luck.