What can I do when AIMA takes too long to schedule my appointment?

Securing an appointment with AIMA continues to be one of the main difficulties faced by foreign nationals who need to complete certain residence procedures in Portugal.

In many cases, the applicant already holds a residence visa, is legally present in Portugal and has all the necessary documentation, but is unable to obtain a date for an in-person appointment with the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA).

This raises an important question:

How long should I simply wait? Is there anything I can do when AIMA does not provide an appointment?

The answer depends on the type of procedure, the applicant’s immigration status and how long they have been waiting.

How does AIMA appointment scheduling work?

There are currently different ways of obtaining an appointment, depending on the procedure.

In cases involving the granting of a residence permit based on a consular residence visa, for example, the appointment may be scheduled by the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs when the visa is issued. The appointment information will normally appear on the visa sticker itself.

There are also situations in which applicants must request an appointment themselves through the channels made available by AIMA, including its contact form. Specific appointment forms have also been created for certain categories.

I have a residence visa but have not received an appointment date. What should I do?

The first step is to check the visa carefully.

For consular visas, an appointment may have been scheduled when the visa was issued, with the relevant information appearing at the bottom of the visa sticker.

If there is no appointment or if the indicated link does not work, AIMA currently advises applicants to use its contact form to request an appointment. AIMA's FAQs also refer to the possibility of sending a request to the Agency's general contact address when there is no appropriate option available on the form.

It is important to keep evidence of all these attempts.

Why is it important to document attempts to obtain an appointment?

Because there is an important difference between simply stating that you were unable to obtain an appointment and being able to provide documentary evidence that you attempted to secure one through the channels made available by the Portuguese authorities.

Submitted forms, emails, reference numbers, automated replies and other records may be important in demonstrating that the applicant took the steps that were reasonably available to them.

This documentation becomes even more important when the delay continues for an extended period and begins to have concrete consequences for the applicant.

My visa is about to expire. Will I automatically become irregular?

This question should not be answered in general terms.

The situation depends on the type of visa, the procedure that should have been completed, the rules applicable at the relevant time and the steps already taken by the applicant.

There is, however, an important protection for holders of residence visas. Law no. 23/2007 provides that while a residence permit application is pending for reasons not attributable to the applicant, the holder of a residence visa is not prevented from carrying out professional activity in accordance with the law.

However, there is an important legal distinction between having a residence permit application that has actually been submitted and is pending and merely waiting to obtain an appointment in order to submit that application.

For this reason, each situation must be assessed individually.

Is there a deadline for AIMA to schedule the appointment?

Another distinction is necessary here.

Portuguese immigration law establishes deadlines for the decision on a residence permit application. Under the current wording of Article 82, an initial residence permit application must be decided within 90 days, while a renewal application must be decided within 60 days.

These deadlines, however, relate to the processing and decision of the application and should not automatically be treated as a specific deadline for AIMA to provide an initial appointment.

This is precisely why cases involving the lack of an appointment require their own legal assessment.

What if AIMA still does not schedule an appointment?

When the delay becomes excessive and begins to prevent the exercise of rights, it may be necessary to consider legal action before the courts.

In this situation, the purpose of the proceedings is not to ask the court to directly grant a residence permit without administrative assessment.

Depending on the circumstances and the appropriate procedural route, the purpose may be to obtain judicial protection against administrative inaction that is preventing the applicant from exercising a right or obtaining a decision from the authorities.

The appropriate legal action will depend on the specific circumstances, particularly because the failure to provide an appointment and a delay in deciding an application that has already been submitted are legally different situations.

When should legal action be considered?

There is no fixed number of days after which every delay automatically justifies court proceedings.

Several factors must be considered, including how long the applicant has been trying to obtain an appointment, which attempts have already been made, the type of residence permit sought, whether the applicant holds a residence visa, the validity of that visa and the concrete consequences caused by the lack of an appointment.

Situations involving employment, family reunification, minors, health issues, inability to exercise certain rights or other urgent circumstances may require particularly careful assessment.

I could not get an appointment. Should I simply wait?

No.

Waiting indefinitely without documenting any attempt to resolve the situation may make it more difficult to take action later.

Ideally, the following points should be identified as early as possible:

1. which procedure needs to be completed;
2. the correct channel for requesting an appointment;
3. whether an appointment was already linked to the visa;
4. which requests have already been submitted to AIMA;
5. how long the delay has lasted;
6. what concrete consequences the delay is causing.

Based on this information, it is possible to assess whether the matter should still be pursued through administrative channels or whether there may already be grounds to consider judicial action.

Conclusion

AIMA's delay in providing appointments does not mean that foreign nationals must simply wait indefinitely.

The first step is to determine whether the appointment should have been scheduled automatically, use the appropriate official channels and keep evidence of every attempt made to obtain an appointment.

When the waiting period becomes excessive and begins to materially affect the applicant's immigration status or ability to exercise their rights, other legal measures may be considered, including, where appropriate, proceedings before the Portuguese administrative courts.

Our team assists clients facing delays before AIMA at both the administrative and judicial stages. We review the history of the case, previous attempts to obtain an appointment, the applicant's documentation and the concrete consequences of the delay in order to determine which legal measure is most appropriate for the individual case.

If you have been trying for months to obtain an AIMA appointment without receiving a response, an individual assessment can help determine whether it is still appropriate to pursue the matter administratively or whether there may already be grounds for judicial action.

Rafaela Barbosa Advocacia Internacional
Specialists in immigration, Italian and Portuguese citizenship, and international mobility.

📍 Portugal | Brazil | Italy
📞 +351 913 158 360
📩 advocacia.rafaelabarbosa@gmail.com
🌐 www.rafaelabarbosaadv.com

If you have any questions, our team is available to assist you.

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