# AIMA Backlog Nearly Cleared, Agency Pivots to Golden Visa, Family Cases

> Just 5,000 of 445,000 AIMA regularisation cases remain unresolved. Staff are shifting to golden visa and family reunification queues next.

- Source: https://www.growinportugal.com/news/aima-s-regularisation-backlog-nearly-gone-just-5-000-of-445-2026-10-09
- Publisher: GrowIN Portugal (https://www.growinportugal.com)
- Published: 2026-10-09
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-09
- Language: en

> **Key figures — as of 2026-10-09:** Just **5,000 of 445,000** "expressions of interest" regularisation cases remain unresolved — AIMA has made **55,000 family reunification appointments** and granted **26,000 residence permits** this year; of **46,000 pending golden visa applications**, **30,000 appointments** have been scheduled but only **6,000 cases processed**; AIMA's workforce has grown from **723 to 850** staff.

## The Backlog That Defined Two Years of Portuguese Immigration Policy Is Almost Gone

For two years, "AIMA backlog" was shorthand for everything frustrating about moving to Portugal — months of silence, archived files, expired cards nobody could renew. That chapter is closing. Portugal's immigration agency AIMA is close to clearing a vast backlog of regularisation cases, with just 5,000 of 445,000 pending applications still unresolved, Minister of the Presidency António Leitão Amaro told parliament this week. The 445,000 figure refers specifically to the former "expressions of interest" system, which allowed people to seek regularisation after arriving in Portugal without a residence visa, including on a tourist visa — the single largest source of AIMA's inherited caseload after the 2023 closure of SEF.

That's a clearance rate above 98.8%, down from a backlog that once numbered in the hundreds of thousands and made delays of over a year routine for applicants.

## Staff Are Already Moving to the Next Queues

What makes this update newsworthy isn't just the number — it's where the agency says it's sending people next. AIMA has made 55,000 family reunification appointments this year and granted 26,000 residence permits, already exceeding what the minister described as a historical annual average of fewer than 20,000. That's a category that has historically moved painfully slowly for spouses and children of residents already settled in Portugal, and the minister's framing suggests it's now getting the capacity boost the old regularisation queue previously absorbed.

Golden Visa applicants are the other beneficiary, though the numbers there tell a more complicated story. Of 46,000 pending golden visa applications, around 30,000 appointments have been made and 6,000 cases processed. The minister's own explanation for why AIMA struggled this long is candid: the agency had initially been overwhelmed by accumulated cases and new arrivals, while lacking staff and technology, with its workforce since growing from 723 to 850, alongside increases in cultural mediators, local support partnerships and call centre capacity.

## GrowIN's Read on the Golden Visa Numbers

Here's the gap worth flagging for anyone with capital parked in a CMVM-regulated fund waiting on AIMA: of the 30,000 golden visa appointments already held, only 6,000 have actually converted into a processed case — roughly one in five. That 20% conversion rate matters more than the headline "appointments made" figure, because an appointment confirms the agency has seen your file, not that it has decided it. If that ratio holds steady, the remaining ~24,000 scheduled-but-undecided applicants should expect their actual outcome months after their appointment date, not on it — a distinction GrowIN Portugal Editorial has been flagging to clients navigating fund-based Golden Visa routes since the real-estate option closed.

As one industry tracker put it, of the 445,000 regularization cases inherited from the former "expressions of interest" system, only 5,000 remain unresolved, with the real test now being whether that same discipline extends to the fund and family-reunification queues where volumes are smaller but applicant patience is thinner.

## What This Means in Practice

If you're a Golden Visa investor who filed years ago and is still waiting on a decision, having an appointment is progress but not resolution — budget for further waiting even after biometrics. Family reunification applicants should see faster movement than in 2024–25, given the explicit reallocation of staff and the agency already running above its historical annual permit output. Anyone with an older residence card renewal, however, isn't automatically covered by this announcement — this specific 445,000 figure is the legacy "expressions of interest" cohort, not the separate backlog of permit renewals or the court cases still working through Portugal's administrative tribunals.

**GrowIN Portugal Editorial's take:** clearing a backlog is not the same as building a fast system, and AIMA's own appointment-to-decision gap on golden visas is proof of the difference.

## What to Watch Next

Parliament will likely want quarterly updates on whether the 6,000-of-46,000 golden visa figure moves meaningfully before year-end, and whether family reunification keeps outpacing its historical baseline once the regularisation queue is fully retired. For a fuller walkthrough of current residency routes and what AIMA's reorganisation means for each, see our <a href="/visas/">visas hub</a>. Check appointment status directly via AIMA's portal at aima.gov.pt or the online renewals system at portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt, and treat any processing timeline as indicative rather than guaranteed until your decision is formally issued.

## Sources

- [Portugal Resident](https://www.portugalresident.com/aima-nears-clearance-of-immigration-backlog-minister-says/)
- [IMI Daily](https://www.imidaily.com/europe/portugal-says-it-has-processed-13-of-its-golden-visa-backlog/)
- [The Portugal News](https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/2026-05-14/aima-validated-the-entry-of-nearly-400000-immigrants-into-portugal/1022111)
- [AIMA](https://aima.gov.pt)

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© GrowIN Portugal. Cite as: GrowIN Portugal, "AIMA Backlog Nearly Cleared, Agency Pivots to Golden Visa, Family Cases", https://www.growinportugal.com/news/aima-s-regularisation-backlog-nearly-gone-just-5-000-of-445-2026-10-09