AIMA’s processing queue is the slowest part of every Golden Visa file — and the least explained. This tracker collects the official figures in one place: what the government has told Parliament, what AIMA has published, and what realistic wait times look like right now. Every number carries its source and its date; we re-check each figure at least quarterly and re-date anything that moves.
Milestones
AIMA’s task force is created
AIMA stands up a dedicated operational structure (Estrutura Missão) to clear the inherited regularization backlog of roughly one million cases.
Task force formally closes
The Estrutura Missão ends operations on 31 December 2025; remaining cases return to AIMA’s normal structure.
30,000 cases left to close
The Secretary of State for Immigration confirms ~30,000 processes still await a decision — the more complex files.
Golden Visa figures to Parliament
The Minister of the Presidency reports 46,000 pending ARI applications, 6,000 decided and ~30,000 biometric appointments booked.
How to check your own case
AIMA communicates only through its own channels: the online case portal and the email printed on your application receipt. If your biometrics are done, your file is in the decision queue — there is no separate step you can book. Our practical guide covers AIMA appointments and renewals in detail, including what to do when a deadline passes.
What actually moves your timeline
- Biometrics scheduling — with ~30,000 appointments in the pipeline, this is the longest queue for new applicants.
- Route complexity — fund subscriptions are document-heavy at the start but review faster than cases needing extra due diligence.
- File quality — incomplete criminal-record or investment proofs push a case back into correspondence, which restarts waits.
- Your lawyer’s follow-up — formal requests for status (requerimento de informação) create a paper trail AIMA must answer.
Expertly reviewed: Darya Melnik · Senior Consultant for Investment Programs at BRIDGES
12 years in family relocation and residency programmes, with BRIDGES since 2018. Specialises in Golden Visa routes, D7/D8 applications and post-residency support — banks, schools, healthcare and housing.
Official sources for the figures and rules in this guide:
Processing a Golden Visa file right now?
Our licensed partner structures applications to survive the queue: complete files, clean proofs and formal follow-ups from day one.
Get expert advice →