Your Portugal Golden Visa Biometrics Appointment: A Complete Preparation Guide
What to Expect and How to Prepare
The biometrics appointment is the most significant in-person step in the entire Golden Visa process. It's the moment your application becomes tangible — fingerprints taken, photograph captured, residence permit fee paid. It's also the step that generates the most anxiety among investors, largely because of uncertainty about timing and preparation.
Here's everything you need to know.
What Is the Biometrics Appointment?
It is an in-person appointment at an AIMA (Portuguese immigration authority) office in mainland Portugal. During the appointment, your fingerprints are taken, your photograph is captured, and you pay the government residence permit fee. The entire process takes approximately 30 to 45 minutes.
A lawyer from your Portuguese law firm accompanies you to the appointment and handles all procedural matters. You are not navigating this alone.
When Does It Happen?
Biometrics appointments are currently being scheduled approximately four months after application submission. AIMA gives between 30 and 90 days' notice of the appointment date.
You cannot choose the date, time, or location. AIMA assigns all three. The appointment can be at any AIMA office in mainland Portugal — Lisbon, Porto, Faro, or any other location where AIMA operates.
In practice, treat yourself as potentially 30 days away from a biometrics appointment at any time once your application is in good standing. This means keeping your travel documents and supporting paperwork ready.
What to Bring
Your law firm will provide a detailed preparation checklist, but the key items you are personally responsible for are:
Valid passport: Current, with sufficient validity.
Apostilled FBI criminal records (for US investors) or equivalent from your country of nationality. These must be issued no more than three months before the appointment date. This is a tight window — order them early and be ready to reorder if your appointment is delayed.
Notarised and apostilled Tax Residency Certificate: For US investors, this typically involves the front and back of your SSN card on one page, or the relevant page of your tax return, notarised and apostilled.
Credit or debit card: For paying the government fee on the day.
All other documentation — investment proof, application forms, supporting legal documents — is prepared by Tejo Ventures and your law firm.
The Fee: ~€6,045 Per Adult
The government residence permit fee is approximately €6,045–6,179 per adult. This is paid by card at the AIMA office during the appointment. It is not invoiced in advance — many investors are surprised by this.
For a couple attending biometrics, budget approximately €12,000 for fees on the day. Ensure your card has a sufficient daily transaction limit, or bring a backup card.
The Preparation Meeting
Your law firm schedules a preparation meeting before the biometrics appointment. This is a walkthrough of exactly what will happen, what documents to bring, and what to expect on the day. Take this meeting seriously — it's your opportunity to ask any remaining questions and confirm everything is in order.
Can I Reschedule?
Technically yes, but strongly discouraged. AIMA only accepts rescheduling with documented justification (medical emergency, documented travel impossibility, etc.). There is no guarantee of when the replacement appointment will be scheduled — delays can run to months.
Rescheduling delays your residence card issuance but does not affect your citizenship clock (which runs from submission, not biometrics). Still, avoid rescheduling unless absolutely necessary. Build flexibility into your schedule once your application is submitted.
Family Biometrics
AIMA schedules main applicants first. Family members and dependents are typically scheduled in a separate wave, weeks to months later. This means your spouse and children will almost certainly have a different biometrics date from you.
Each family member must attend their own appointment in person. The same documentation requirements apply to each person individually. Your law firm accompanies each family member to their appointment.
After Biometrics: What Happens Next
After the appointment, your residence card is processed and issued within two to six months. Your law firm can collect it under power of attorney and courier it to you — you do not need to return to Portugal.
Once the card is in your hands, you have legal residency in Portugal, the right to travel visa-free across the Schengen Area, and your 14-day stay requirement begins.
Practical Tips
Arrive early. AIMA offices can be busy. Give yourself a comfortable buffer.
Bring your law firm's contact details. In case of any issues on the day, you want immediate access to your lawyer.
Dress comfortably but presentably. Your photograph will appear on your residence card.
Keep your criminal records timing tight. The three-month validity window is strict. If your appointment is delayed, you may need to reorder. Your law firm will advise.
Plan your Portugal visit around the appointment. Since you need to be in mainland Portugal anyway, this is a natural opportunity to start accumulating days toward your 14-day stay requirement and building your evidence trail.
Contact Tejo Ventures to discuss the Golden Visa process and what to expect at each stage.
