Portugal's AIMA Processes 13% of Golden Visa Backlog
Portugal's immigration agency AIMA has processed 6,000 of 46,000 pending Golden Visa applications, scheduling 30,000 appointments as it shifts focus from a cleared regularization backlog to investor and family reunification cases.
Portugal's Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (AIMA) has processed 6,000 of approximately 46,000 pending Golden Visa applications. The Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, provided the update to parliament's Constitutional Affairs committee, revealing a shift in agency priorities following the clearance of a massive regularization backlog.
Current status of investor applications
AIMA has scheduled appointments for around 30,000 Golden Visa applications. That leaves about 40,000 cases still in the system, though not all are at the same procedural stage. The reported 6,000 figure counts processed cases, while the 30,000 appointments refer to applicants scheduled to attend. An appointment marks progress but does not mean the applicant has completed every required step or received a residence card.
The count covers pending applications tied to Portugal’s investor-residence program, formally known as Autorização de Residência para Atividade de Investimento (ARI). Industry estimates have placed the total stock between 45,000 and 50,000, with variations depending on whether family members and renewals are included.
Context of backlog clearance and resource shift
Clearing the regularization queue has freed AIMA to devote more resources to family reunification and golden visas. António Leitão Amaro said: "The regularization queue had fallen from 445,000 pending applications to about 5,000 unresolved cases." Many of those applications came through the former "expressions of interest" route, which allowed some foreign nationals already in Portugal to seek regularization.
The agency's workforce has grown from 723 to 850. During 2026, AIMA made 55,000 family-reunification appointments and granted 26,000 residence permits through that process. That permit total exceeds the historical annual average of fewer than 20,000. The transition from the former immigration service SEF to AIMA also involved a move from paper-based to digital systems.
Annual figures show Portugal's investor visa approvals are rising.
| Year | Investor Residence Permits Issued | Permits for Family Members |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2,091 | Not specified |
| 2024 | 2,081 | Not specified |
| 2025 | 2,685 | 3,967 |
Industry perspectives on processing timelines
Experts note that while scheduling has improved, bottlenecks have shifted. Werner Gruner of Get Golden Visa states that scheduling biometrics is ceasing to be a bottleneck. The constraint has moved to the stage between biometrics and the decision itself. He says waits will shorten further for applicants who already have an appointment, provided AIMA allocates enough analysts.
Specialist reporting describes waits of 12 months or more in some cases. Madalena Monteiro of Liberty describes two separate timelines inside the golden visa backlog. Applicants who submitted biometrics before 2025 followed a slower paper procedure. Those who filed from January 2025 onward follow a faster digital process. For more recent files, one firm observes approximately eight to nine months from submission to a biometric invitation, with first residence cards dispatched about one month after fee payment.
Minister's broader immigration policy direction
The minister indicated the government's next focus. António Leitão Amaro said: The next period of immigration policy would focus on integration and stronger action against illegal immigration. He also addressed specific renewal challenges, stating that cases involving applicants with expired passports, such as Belarusian nationals, would be assessed individually.
Whether the government meets its commitment to clear the investor backlog in 2026 will depend on how quickly the 30,000 scheduled appointments are converted into final decisions.
