AIMA

Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo — the immigration agency that replaced SEF. It handles residence permits, renewals and the appointments everything else depends on.

Where people slip: since 28 April 2025 an incomplete file is rejected rather than corrected — one missing document and you start again, with a new appointment at the back of the queue. The appointment itself, not the decision, is the real bottleneck.

Do this: assemble the whole file before booking, and keep the submission receipt. That proof of a pending application is what protects your legal stay while you wait — carry it with your passport, and do not plan travel that depends on the card arriving.