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Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo
OrganisationPT

Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo

Portugal's migration agency; 525,000+ files cleared, D8 applicants still wait nine months for a card.

Last refreshed: 11 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic

Key Question

How much does AIMA's backlog add to the time it takes to get Portuguese citizenship?

Timeline for Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo

#1030 Jun

cleared cases toward a 30,000-case remainder

Nomads & Communities: Portugal cuts AIMA backlog to 30,000
#82 Jun

Reported 525,000-plus decisions with 473,000 positive outcomes as of 2 June 2026

Nomads & Communities: Portugal clears files, D8 wait holds
#72 Jun

Published cumulative backlog statistics on 2 June 2026 with no D8-specific breakdown

Nomads & Communities: Portugal counts files, lawyers count the wait
#71 Jun

Mentioned in: Italy makes its nomad visa fully digital

Nomads & Communities
#53 May

Delayed first residence card issuance by 12-18 months, effectively extending the citizenship clock

Nomads & Communities: Portugal starts the clock at the card
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Common Questions
What is AIMA in Portugal?
AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo) is Portugal's migration and asylum agency, created in October 2023 to replace SEF. It processes visas including the D8 digital nomad Visa.
Why is Portugal's digital nomad visa delayed in 2026?
AIMA's cultural mediators struck on 30 March 2026 with over 70% adhesion, directly stalling the D8 visa pipeline. A backlog of 40,000 to 60,000 cases already existed before the strike.Source: Portugal Post/IMI Daily
How long does it take to get Portuguese citizenship now?
Portugal's Parliament voted in April 2026 to double the residency-to-citizenship requirement from five to ten years for most nationalities (seven for EU and Lusophone applicants).Source: IMI Daily

Background

The Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA) was created on 29 October 2023, merging the Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (SEF) with the Alto Comissariado para as Migrações (ACM), separating enforcement from integration and asylum services. Its dedicated Mission Structure, stood up in mid-2024 to work through the inherited caseload, formally concluded on 31 December 2025. By 1 July 2026, deputy minister Rui Armindo Freitas told Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee that only 30,000 cases remained pending, all "somewhat more complex cases" requiring further analysis or applicant contact, out of "nearly one million" inherited from the previous government; the Porto office stayed open specifically to work that tail. Despite that headline progress, immigration lawyers continue to call the government's broader end-2026 clearance pledge "offensive and shameless", and new D8 digital nomad Visa applicants still wait approximately nine months for a first residence card.

Cultural mediators at AIMA walked out on 30 March 2026 with adhesion above 70% in Porto, directly hitting the pipeline for Portugal's D8 digital nomad visa (income floor €3,680/month). Cultural mediators constitute nearly half of AIMA's effective front-line staffing; the strike landed in the same week the Portuguese Parliament voted 152 to 64 to double the residency-to-citizenship requirement from five to ten years. The strike resolution status remained unclear as of June 2026.

The most consequential operational development in AIMA's 2026 calendar came on 3 May 2026, when President Seguro promulgated the revised nationality law. The critical detail: the residency clock now starts at first residence-card issuance, not at application submission, and applies to new applicants only; the Constitutional Court barred retroactive stripping. The law's implementing regulation, the Regulamento da Nacionalidade (giving effect to Lei Orgânica 1/2026), remains unpublished as of 11 July 2026 and is not expected before mid-August 2026, so its operational detail is confirmed in principle but not yet fully codified. Given AIMA's current card-issuance wait, the effective naturalisation floor for third-country nationals arriving now is roughly 11 to 11.5 years from arrival. The agency is both the bottleneck and the gatekeeper for anyone on Portugal's citizenship path.

More questions
Is the AIMA strike still ongoing in April 2026?
Yes. The cultural mediator strike that began 30 March 2026 with 70%+ adhesion in Porto had neither resolved nor escalated as of 29 April 2026. No settlement agreement has been reached.Source: Lowdown
How big is the AIMA visa backlog in Portugal?
AIMA has approximately 270,000 active cases in processing and a specific D8-era backlog of 40,000-60,000 unresolved residency cases, inherited from a broader pool of 400,000 when AIMA replaced SEF in October 2023.Source: Lowdown / AIMA
What is Portugal's D8 digital nomad visa income requirement?
The D8 visa requires a minimum monthly income of €3,680, four times Portugal's national minimum wage. Applications are processed through AIMA's Porto and Lisbon offices, currently affected by the cultural mediator strike.Source: Lowdown / Portuguese immigration law
When does Portugal's new 10-year citizenship residency clock start?
Under the law promulgated on 3 May 2026, the clock starts at first residence-card issuance, not application submission. For new applicants, AIMA's 12-18 month card wait means the effective PATH is roughly 11-11.5 years from arrival. The change applies to new applicants only — existing residents' accrued time is not stripped.Source: nomads-and-communities/5
Does Portugal's new nationality law affect people already living there?
No. The Constitutional Court barred retroactive application. Only new applicants from 3 May 2026 onwards start their clock at first card issuance rather than at application submission. People who already had residence status keep their accrued time under the old rules.Source: nomads-and-communities/5
How long is the wait for a Portugal residence card at AIMA in 2026?
AIMA currently takes 12 to 18 months to issue a first residence card. With a pending caseload of 40,000-60,000 cases and a mediator strike since March 2026 (70%+ adhesion in Porto), the pipeline shows no sign of clearing to the government's own end-2026 pledge.Source: nomads-and-communities/1
What is the AIMA mediators strike about?
Cultural mediators at AIMA walked out on 30 March 2026 over pay and working conditions inherited from the old SEF agency. Mediators make up nearly half of AIMA's effective front-line staffing, interpreting and navigating for non-Portuguese-speaking applicants. Adhesion was above 70% in Porto as of April 2026 with no settlement reached.Source: nomads-and-communities/1
How does the D8 visa pathway to Portuguese citizenship work now?
D8 holders need ten years of legal residency (seven years if EU or Lusophone). Because the clock now starts at first card issuance, and AIMA takes 12-18 months to issue a card, the effective minimum is roughly 11-11.5 years from arrival for a third-country national. The D8 income floor is €3,680/month.Source: nomads-and-communities/5
How long is the wait for a Portugal AIMA residence card in 2026?
New D8 digital nomad Visa applicants are waiting approximately nine months for a first residence card as of June 2026, according to AIMA's own backlog data. The wait directly affects the citizenship timeline, since the revised nationality law starts the 10-year clock at first card issuance.Source: nomads-and-communities
Has Portugal's AIMA resolved its strike and backlog?
AIMA reported clearing 525,000-plus files by 2 June 2026, but immigration lawyers continue to dispute the government's end-2026 clearance pledge. The cultural mediator strike that began on 30 March 2026 had not been fully resolved as of June 2026, and D8 applicants still wait around nine months.Source: nomads-and-communities
What replaced Portugal's SEF immigration agency?
AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo) replaced SEF in October 2023, separating enforcement from integration and asylum services. AIMA inherited approximately 400,000 unresolved SEF cases and now processes D8 digital nomad visas, residence permits, and citizenship applications.Source: nomads-and-communities
Does Portugal's new 10-year citizenship rule apply to people already living there?
No. The Constitutional Court barred retroactive application. The 10-year residency requirement and the clock-at-card start date apply only to new applicants from 3 May 2026. Existing residents keep their previously accrued residency time.Source: nomads-and-communities
How many pending cases does AIMA still have in July 2026?
As of 1 July 2026, AIMA reported 30,000 pending cases remaining, described by deputy minister Rui Armindo Freitas as the more complex cases still requiring analysis, out of nearly one million inherited from the previous government when the Mission Structure was created.Source: The Portugal News
Source Material
AIMA — Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo