Portugal Implements Solutions to Address Golden Visa Delays

Portugal has introduced significant reforms to address the growing Golden Visa delays, as well as delays in citizenship applications. Two key initiatives from AIMA (Portuguese Immigration Services) and the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN) are designed to streamline the processes and reduce wait times for applicants. Here’s what you need to know about the recent developments.

AIMA Task Force: Expanding Capacity to Tackle Immigration Delays

AIMA, responsible for Portugal’s immigration services, has faced legal pressure to address a large backlog in processing residency applications, particularly from those in the process of applying for Golden Visas. In response, they have set up a task force to double their processing capacity from 1,000 to 2,000 cases daily. This is part of a broader effort to clear around 400,000 pending immigration cases, covering all types of applications, not just Golden Visas.

IRN’s New Nationality Platform: Faster and More Efficient Citizenship Applications

On the citizenship side, the IRN has launched a new Nationality Platform aimed at modernizing and speeding up the process of applying for Portuguese nationality. This platform, supported by automation and artificial intelligence, will significantly reduce the time it takes to process applications by eliminating many manual and redundant tasks.

Key features of the new platform include automatic document scanning and data extraction, allowing customer service employees to focus on validation rather than time-consuming data entry. This innovation is expected to reduce the time spent on each application from nearly two hours to just 30 minutes.

The new platform went live on October 1st at Lisbon’s Central Registry Office and Porto’s Central Archive, with additional nationality counters across the country expected to implement in early November. This move is part of a broader effort to digitalize and streamline the entire nationality process, offering applicants a more transparent and efficient experience.

In 2022, the IRN received a record-breaking 230,000 applications for Portuguese Citizenship. With the new system in place, the IRN expects to increase its capacity to process applications by 50%, significantly cutting down the long waiting times applicants have faced in the past.

If citizenship is your end goal, another key point to highlight is that earlier this year the timeline to citizenship was adjusted so the five year countdown begins from the day you submit your Golden Visa application, as opposed to the date your Golden Visa is approved. This will also save investors substantial time in the long run.

The Future Of Portugal’s Golden Visa and Citizenship Processing

Together, these initiatives from AIMA and the IRN mark a major step forward in addressing the delays and inefficiencies in Portugal’s immigration and citizenship systems. Whether you’re seeking a Portuguese Golden Visa or already hold residency and are now applying for Portuguese nationality, these new measures should lead to faster, more transparent processes in the near future.