How long after submission does AIMA schedule biometrics?
A median 357 days, or 11.7 months, across 13 cases. The shortest wait AIMA assigned was 234 days and the longest 418. 12 of the 13 cases used the investment fund route. Most of these appointments are still in the future, in 2027, so the figure is the wait AIMA scheduled, not an appointment already attended.
Each bar counts cases by whole months from online ARI submission to the biometrics date AIMA assigned (for example, 11 means 11.0 to 11.9 months). Cases submitted September 2025 to September 2026. Source: Movingto case data, as of 16 October 2026.
| Stage | Cases | Median | Middle half | Range | Still waiting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Submission to appointment notice Online ARI submission to the day AIMA's biometrics appointment notice arrived | 13 | 120 days (3.9 mo) | 20 d to 134 d | 7 d to 237 d | 3 |
| Submission to scheduled biometrics Online ARI submission to the biometrics date AIMA assigned | 13 | 357 days (11.7 mo) | 281 d to 392 d | 234 d to 418 d | 3 |
| Appointment notice to scheduled biometrics Day the notice arrived to the biometrics date it set (lead time) | 21 | 251 days (8.2 mo) | 217 d to 251 d | 119 d to 284 d | 0 |
| Submission to AIMA fee paid Online ARI submission to the applicant paying the AIMA fee reference | 12 | 2 days (0.1 mo) | 1 d to 8 d | 0 d to 60 d | 4 |
| Submission to biometrics attended Online ARI submission to the biometrics appointment taking place | 0 | Not enough cases yet | 16 | ||
| Submission to residence card Online ARI submission to the first residence card | 0 | Not enough cases yet | 16 |
Middle half = 25th to 75th percentile. Still waiting = cases where the start date is known but the stage had not happened by 16 October 2026; they are not in the median. Months are days divided by 30.44.
How long until the AIMA appointment notice arrives?
The notice that sets the biometrics date arrived a median 120 days (3.9 months) after submission, ranging from 7 to 237 days. Notices came in batches: 14 of the 21 notices in our files arrived on just three days, in May, June and July 2026. 3 cases submitted in September 2026 had no notice yet on 16 October 2026 and are left out of the median.
Each bar counts cases by time from online ARI submission to the day AIMA's biometrics appointment notice arrived. Source: Movingto case data, as of 16 October 2026.
How much notice does AIMA give before biometrics?
A median 251 days (8.2 months) across 21 cases, from 119 to 284 days. This interval has more cases than the others because it does not need a submission date, so it includes cases that were filed before our current records start. In practice, once the notice arrives you usually have more than half a year to plan the trip to Portugal.
Each bar counts cases by time from the day the appointment notice arrived to the biometrics date it set. Source: Movingto case data, as of 16 October 2026.
How long the steps before submission take
Before AIMA's clock starts, the applicant needs a Portuguese tax number (NIF), a Portuguese bank account and the qualifying investment. From onboarding, Movingto cases reached the NIF in a median 30 days, the bank account in 50 days and submission in 147 days (4.8months). The investment step depends mostly on the applicant's own timing and the fund's subscription process.
| Stage | Cases | Median | Middle half | Range | Still waiting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onboarding to NIF Engagement or welcome email to the Portuguese tax number (NIF) being issued | 15 | 30 days (1.0 mo) | 15 d to 37 d | 6 d to 63 d | 3 |
| Onboarding to bank account Engagement or welcome email to the Portuguese bank account being opened | 15 | 50 days (1.6 mo) | 39 d to 77 d | 28 d to 179 d | 3 |
| Onboarding to investment made Engagement or welcome email to the qualifying investment being made | 6 | 108 days (3.5 mo) | 93 d to 168 d | 88 d to 298 d | 12 |
| Investment made to submission Qualifying investment made to the online ARI submission | 6 | 13 days (0.4 mo) | 10 d to 27 d | 6 d to 37 d | 3 |
| Onboarding to submission Engagement or welcome email to the online ARI submission | 7 | 147 days (4.8 mo) | 112 d to 182 d | 94 d to 312 d | 11 |
How long from biometrics to the Golden Visa card?
There is not enough data in this tracker yet. In the case files we read, no case with a known submission date had reached approval or the residence card, so we publish no figure. AIMA publishes none either. For planning, our Portugal Golden Visa timeline uses 2 to 6 months from biometrics to the card, and the overall planning range is 12 to 24+ months from submission to card. The table below shows how many cases have a usable date for each stage.
| Stage | Cases with a usable date |
|---|---|
| Online ARI submission (main applicant) | 16 |
| AIMA fee paid | 14 |
| Appointment notice received | 21 |
| Biometrics date scheduled | 23 |
| Pre-approval recorded | 0 |
| Biometrics attended | 4 |
| Final approval recorded | 0 |
| Residence card issued | 2 |
Is AIMA getting faster in 2026?
Partly. Applicants submitted from July 2026 onward have so far received their appointment notices faster than those submitted earlier in the year, but there are too few of them to publish a figure, and their appointments are still many months away. Notices sent from July 2026 onward actually set the biometrics date further ahead than earlier notices. The periods below are shown only where a group has at least 5 cases.
| Stage | Period | Cases | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Submission to scheduled biometrics | Submitted January to June 2026 | 8 | 382 days (12.5 mo) |
| Notice to scheduled biometrics | Notice received January to June 2026 | 9 | 207 days (6.8 mo) |
| Notice to scheduled biometrics | Notice received July 2026 onward | 12 | 251 days (8.2 mo) |
| Onboarding to NIF | Onboarded in 2025 | 5 | 40 days (1.3 mo) |
| Onboarding to NIF | Onboarded in 2026 | 10 | 24 days (0.8 mo) |
| Onboarding to bank account | Onboarded in 2025 | 5 | 84 days (2.8 mo) |
| Onboarding to bank account | Onboarded in 2026 | 10 | 46 days (1.5 mo) |
| Submission to AIMA fee paid | Submitted January to June 2026 | 6 | 12 days (0.4 mo) |
| Submission to AIMA fee paid | Submitted July 2026 onward | 6 | 2 days (0.1 mo) |
The longer fee-payment gap in the first half of 2026 coincides with a period, roughly March to May 2026, when AIMA's ARI portal accepted uploads but did not issue fee references.
Official AIMA processing times and fees
AIMA's ARI page sets out the routes and the procedure but publishes no end-to-end processing time, and AIMA's annual statistics count permits granted, not waiting times. Its 2026 activity plan sets an objective to cut pending Golden Visa applications by 50%. Demand is still rising: AIMA granted 2,685 Golden Visas to main investors and 3,967 to family members in 2025 (AIMA RMA 2025; see our Golden Visa statistics).
| Item | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Submission to first residence card | 12 to 24+ months (planning range; AIMA publishes no official figure) | Movingto Golden Visa timeline |
| AIMA fees per person, first card | €6,946.30 (€632.10 analysis + €6,314.20 permit) | AIMA fee table, from 1 March 2026 |
| AIMA fees per person, each renewal | €3,789.90 | AIMA fee table, from 1 March 2026 |
| Golden Visas granted in 2025 | 2,685 investors, 3,967 family members | AIMA RMA 2025 |
For the full cost picture, see Portugal Golden Visa cost; for requirements and the routes still open, the Portugal Golden Visa guide; and for every residency route side by side, processing timelines.
Method and limits
We read the correspondence in Movingto's Portugal Golden Visa case files and recorded the date of each stage, then calculated the days between stages. Only the aggregates on this page are published.
Not an official statistic or a promise
These are timings observed in one firm's cases. Your own case can move faster or slower depending on the AIMA office, the route, the family size and AIMA's capacity.
Medians move with each edition
With a small sample, one batch of AIMA notices can shift a median by weeks. Check the Updated date and the case count beside each figure.
Download the data
- Processing-time intervals portugal-golden-visa-processing-times-intervals.csv. Medians, quartiles and ranges for each Portugal Golden Visa stage in Movingto's anonymised case data. Blank cells mean fewer than five cases.
Free to reuse under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) with a link to this page. Edition 18 October 2026, case data as of 16 October 2026.
Portugal Golden Visa processing time FAQ
How long does the Portugal Golden Visa take in 2026?
Plan for 12 to 24+ months from online submission to the first residence card. In Movingto's case data, AIMA scheduled the biometrics appointment a median 11.7 months (357 days) after submission across 13 cases submitted between September 2025 and September 2026, with a range of 7.7 to 13.7 months. The card comes after biometrics, so the full wait is longer.
How long after submission does AIMA schedule biometrics?
In 13 Movingto cases, the biometrics date AIMA assigned fell a median 357 days (11.7 months) after online submission. The middle half of cases fell between 281 and 392 days (9.2 to 12.9 months). Most of those dates are still in the future, so they are scheduled waits, not attended appointments.
When does the AIMA biometrics appointment notice arrive?
In 13 Movingto cases, the notice arrived a median 120 days (3.9 months) after submission, with a range of 7 to 237 days. AIMA sent many notices in batches on the same day, and cases submitted from July 2026 onward have so far received notices faster.
How much notice does AIMA give before the biometrics appointment?
A median 251 days (8.2 months) across 21 Movingto cases, with a range of 119 to 284 days. Notices received from July 2026 onward gave a median 8.2 months' notice (12 cases), compared with 6.8 months for notices received January to June 2026 (9 cases).
How long from biometrics to the Portugal Golden Visa card?
Not enough Movingto cases have reached that stage in this tracker's window to publish a figure. AIMA publishes no official time for it. Movingto's Portugal Golden Visa timeline uses 2 to 6 months after biometrics as a planning range.
Does AIMA publish an official Golden Visa processing time?
No. AIMA's ARI page publishes no end-to-end processing time, and AIMA's annual statistics report permits granted, not waiting times. AIMA's 2026 activity plan sets an objective to cut pending Golden Visa applications by 50%.
How long does it take to get a NIF and a bank account for the Golden Visa?
In Movingto cases, the NIF was issued a median 30 days after onboarding (15 cases) and the bank account was open a median 50 days after onboarding (15 cases). Both were faster for clients onboarded in 2026 than in 2025.
What are the AIMA fees for the Portugal Golden Visa?
AIMA's fee table applied from 1 March 2026 charges €6,946.30 per person for the first card (€632.10 analysis plus €6,314.20 permit) and €3,789.90 per person for each renewal. These are government fees, separate from the investment and from Movingto's €6,000 flat fee for the fund route.
How often is this Golden Visa tracker updated?
Every month. Each edition re-reads Movingto's case files, re-runs the aggregation and changes the Updated date. Intervals that do not yet have five cases, such as biometrics to card, appear once enough cases reach them.
How to cite this data
Movingto. (2026). Portugal Golden Visa processing time tracker: Movingto case data, as of 16 October 2026. https://movingto.com/statistics/portugal-golden-visa-processing-times
When you quote a figure, please give the case count and the as-of date with it.
Changelog
- First published with case data as of 16 October 2026: 16 usable submissions, 13 cases with a scheduled biometrics date, 21 cases with a notice lead time.
Sources
Movingto case data as of 16 October 2026, plus the official AIMA sources below for context. No secondary market reporting is used for any figure.