Halfway through 2026, AIMA’s backlog is neither the crisis it was in 2024 nor the solved problem the agency sometimes claims. Anyone holding, or waiting on, a Portuguese residence permit right now needs the real picture, not the headline stat.
The numbers officials are citing
AIMA had a genuinely brutal starting point: in 2024 it was estimated that AIMA had a backlog of over 400,000 applications, of which 350,000 were inherited from SEF, which made delays of over a year common. Since then the agency has pushed through volume at a pace SEF never managed. AIMA issued 386,000 residence permits in 2025, marking a 60% increase compared to 2024, and officials point to that as proof the system is working.
Government figures also claim around ninety three percent of pending files cleared. That statistic gets repeated everywhere, but immigration lawyers push back on what it actually measures — “resolved” includes archived and rejected cases, not only approved ones. Strip that out and the residual caseload is still meaningful: one legal source estimates 40,000 to 60,000 cases remain actively pending as of early 2026.
The extension merry-go-round
For anyone whose card expired before mid-2025, the last twelve months have been a sequence of last-minute reprieves rather than a clean fix. AIMA formally ended blanket automatic extensions in October 2025, replacing them with a narrower rule: the right of residence of a foreign citizen remains valid for up to six months after the expiry date of their Residence Permit card, and for cards expired on or before 30 June 2025, that six-month period begins on 15 October 2025, meaning the right of residence remains valid until 15 April 2026.
That April deadline came and went for many people whose renewal was still stuck in AIMA’s queue. So on 2 April 2026 the agency moved the goalposts again: it extended the validity of renewal certificates for a further 60 days, for holders of residence permits that had expired on June 30, 2025, whose proof-of-status documents were scheduled to lapse on April 15, 2026. That pushes the effective deadline for this cohort to roughly mid-June 2026 — and even that isn’t guaranteed to be final, since AIMA also stated that certificates can be renewed again after the 60-day period if cases remain pending and a final decision has not been issued.
Crucially, none of this protects you outside Portugal. These extensions are a domestic legal fiction; a Schengen border officer or an airline check-in agent isn’t bound by them, and there are recurring reports of travellers being denied boarding on an expired card plus a renewal receipt. If you have a pending renewal, don’t leave the country unless you absolutely have to.
Appointments: better on paper, still a lottery in practice
Since 28 April 2025, AIMA has run a strict “complete file” policy — AIMA only accepts residence permit applications that are fully complete at submission, and any application missing even one required document faces immediate rejection. That’s tightened quality control but also means one missing bank statement can bounce you back to the end of the queue.
Wait times for the first biometric appointment still vary enormously by office and visa type. Golden Visa applicants in particular should expect a long haul: as of early 2026, the realistic timeline from Golden Visa application submission to receiving your first residence card is 12 to 18 months. There has been real digital progress on the investment route, though — as of 2 February 2026, it is possible for Golden Visa applicants to renew their residency permit on the online renewal portal, cutting down in-person visits for straightforward renewals.
What to actually do about it
If your case has genuinely stalled beyond AIMA’s own statutory deadlines, Portuguese administrative law does offer a route: Article 66 of the CPTA allows applicants to challenge unresponsiveness and, in some cases, compel a court-ordered decision. It’s not a guarantee of approval, and it takes time and legal costs of its own, but it’s a real remedy rather than simply waiting indefinitely.
For most people, the practical playbook hasn’t changed much this year: submit a genuinely complete file the first time, register your email with AIMA so cancellations don’t vanish into a system that never notifies you, keep paper copies of every confirmation, and check status through the Portal das Renovações rather than relying on phone lines. Our /visas/ hub has the current requirements by permit type if you’re planning your first submission or a renewal.
What to watch next
The mid-June 2026 deadline for the June-2025 expiry cohort is the next real test of whether AIMA can clear its residual caseload without another emergency extension. Given the pattern so far, don’t be surprised if it isn’t the last one — and don’t plan international travel around AIMA hitting a deadline it has already missed twice.
Sources
This article was produced with AI assistance and editorial oversight in line with our editorial policy. It is general information, not legal or tax advice.