What sets the pace
No stage of this process runs on a published clock. Each is governed by something different, four of the six can be moved by the applicant, and the two that cannot are the two that matter most.
What governs each stage
| Stage | What sets the pace | Who can move it |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tax number and bank account | The offices that issue them, and whether a power of attorney covers doing it in absentia. | Applicant and adviser |
| 2. The qualifying investment | The terms of the chosen route. A fund has its own subscription and dealing dates; a company route has incorporation and hiring.1 | Applicant, fund or body |
| 3. Documents | The slowest single certificate, running against the 45 days for which the two debt certificates stay valid.1 | Applicant |
| 4. Submission | Completeness. A file returned for correction restarts the wait, and by then the 45-day certificates may have lapsed.1 | Applicant |
| 5. Biometrics and decision | AIMA scheduling and its pending caseload. Lawful presence on the day is a precondition rather than a cause of delay.1 | AIMA |
| 6. Renewal | The two-year term of the permit, filed through the portal that has taken renewals since 16 February 2026.1 | Applicant and AIMA |
Why a completion date cannot be quoted
Two of the six stages sit with a party that has no contract with the applicant. AIMA receives the file, asks for what is missing, schedules biometrics and decides1. Nobody instructed by an applicant can put a date on any of that, and no official source publishes a processing time for an individual file.
So a quoted completion date is a quotation of AIMA's diary by someone who does not hold it. The honest version of the same answer names what is inside the applicant's control, which is stages 1 to 3, and treats the rest as open. This page gives no estimate for the same reason.
Where AIMA stands
Three things are on the record. AIMA has carried a backlog of pending files since 2023. In October 2025 the government undertook to clear the pending investment files during 2026. Since 16 February 2026 renewals are filed online through AIMA's portal1.
An undertaking to clear a backlog is a statement of intent by a government, not a service standard owed to a particular applicant, and nothing here converts it into weeks. Check the authority's own page before relying on any of it; it is the first entry in the source register below.
What a slow stage actually costs
Waiting has a price beyond patience. Under Lei Orgânica 1/2026, in force since 19 May 2026, residence counts towards naturalisation from the grant of the permit rather than from the date of application3. Every month between submission and grant is a month that does not count.
Permanent residence works the same way, following five years of legal residence under article 80 of the immigration law2. That is the argument for compressing stages 1 to 3 rather than for chasing stage 5: the part that can be shortened is the part before the file reaches AIMA. Documents shows where the days are lost.
Sources
- 1AIMA Autorização de Residência para Investimento, Art. 90.º-A aima.gov.pt/pt/viver/autorizacao-de-residencia-para-investimento-art-90-o-a
- 2Diário da República Lei n.º 23/2007, de 4 de julho (legal regime of entry, stay, exit and removal of foreigners), consolidated diariodarepublica.pt/dr/legislacao-consolidada/lei/2007-34513475
- 3Diário da República n.º 95/2026, Série I Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026, de 18 de maio, amending and republishing the Nationality Law (Lei n.º 37/81) files.diariodarepublica.pt/1s/2026/05/09500/0000200020.pdf
Last reviewed 3 September 2026. Rules change; check each source before acting.