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With AIMA, Portugal Residency by Investment on Better Track
With the appointment of the Portugal Residency by Investment new agency, this agency has promised a program that must resolve pending applications.
The Portugal Residency by Investment Program has been a great success for investors since its launch until now due to the beautiful nature of Portugal, the possibility of adding a family, the possibility of working, studying and living in Portugal and all Schengen countries and qualifying for Portuguese citizenship in the future.
The program has proven its value in the long term because it combines the benefits of residency with investment opportunities and the financial and social returns that accompany their investments.
About the Portugal Residency by Investment
The Portugal Residency by Investment Program, also known as the Portugal Golden Visa, was created in 2012 and provides a clear path to obtaining residency and citizenship in Europe for non-EU nationalities.
The decision to create the Portugal Residency by Investment Program came after the global financial crisis in 2008, and the program has raised investments of over $7 billion for the country.
In 2023, a new agency for the Portugal Residency by Investment, called AIMA, was appointed to replace the SEF.
Despite delays in processing applications due to the large increase in 2024, the new agency has made great strides in its quest to improve the processing files, and with the help of new teams and digitization of processes, these two factors herald a major positive shift by the beginning of 2025.
Apart from the news of the change of agency, the Portuguese Immigration Ministry has partially ended the resident tax program with a one-year transition period.
It is also worth noting that real estate investment has been abolished and replaced with the old option of investing in tax-exempt private equity funds diversified across multiple sectors, most notably tourism, renewable energy and technology.
Changes to the Portugal Residency by Investment System
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On April 6, 2023, the Portuguese Cabinet approved the creation of the Agency for Integration, Immigration and Asylum (AIMA) to take over the administrative functions of the former agency known as the Foreigners and Borders Service, with the new agency officially starting operations in October of the same year.
The changes came with the SEF being replaced by AIMA with administrative functions relating to foreign nationals and supporting the migration programme, and the ACM’s responsibilities relating to children and youth being transferred to the Portuguese Institute for Sports and Youth.
In this regard, the government stated that “the task of implementing national and European public policies relating to migration and asylum and those relating to the entry, reception and integration of foreigners into Portuguese society will now be under the auspices of a single administrative entity, following a more efficient approach and against the pressures and crises of humanity”.
Initially, AIMA was given a small staff compared to the 350,000 pending cases, and the government promised to solve this problem, which the SEF was clearly suffering from.
To solve this problem, the Portuguese executive promised to seek support from municipalities and migrant support organisations, opening an electronic support portal on the one hand, and increasing AIMA offices and staff on the other.
The acceleration of applications means that applicants to the Portugal residency by investment programme will be able to apply for Portuguese citizenship 5 years after submitting the application with the help of AIMA.
About the AIMA
The Agency for Integration, Immigration and Asylum was created to separate the security tasks from the administrative tasks of immigration and asylum, which were previously managed together by the SEF. Now the Agency for Integration, Immigration and Asylum has taken over the administrative side and delegated the border control tasks to the police forces.
The Agency for Integration, Immigration and Asylum has a more modern administrative system, based on digitalization and the use of technology for a smoother user experience instead of the technological structural problems that the SEF faced. Its offices are spread throughout Portugal and you can apply to them electronically in order to book and complete your needs with the least possible delay.
Although the days when it was possible to obtain Portugal residency by investment in 6 months are gone, experts have confirmed that it has become much better managed than the SEF, with the Agency for Integration, Immigration and Asylum having additional resources, experience and greater focus.
AIMA faces a major test in 2025 to resolve pending cases and files with a great promise to improve the service levels of the Portugal residency by investment program.
After more than a year and a half since the change of agency, many pending files for Portugal residency by investment have been processed with optimism for further improvement by 2025.
The role of the AIMA in the Portugal Residency by Investment
The Agency for Integration, Immigration and Asylum is responsible for processing and issuing all types of Portuguese residency such as work residency and Portugal residency by investment, issuing short- and long-term visas, processing asylum applications and supervising naturalization processes.
With the help of the Agency for Integration, Immigration and Asylum, immigration processes will become easier, more efficient and transparent than the delays and accusations of corruption that plagued the previous agency.
In order to enhance efficiency, work is underway to create additional offices, provide multilingual support, reform the legal framework for foreign and European citizens, and change citizenship qualifications and more stringent processing time practices.
Contact our authorized office for the Portugal residency by investment to guide you and provide you with any questions you may have during your journey towards Portuguese residency. If you are interested in citizenship programs instead of residency, read our article on citizenship by investment.
About Author
Taher Shehab
As co-founder and CEO, Taher Shehab has guided Global Citizen Consultants to be a leader in providing citizenship by investment in over 20 territories, including the Caribbean.
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