AIMA Portugal News: 2026 Backlog, Strikes and Renewal Updates

Most people checking AIMA Portugal news want one of two things answered. Either your permit is coming up for renewal, and you want to know where to file, or your file has been sitting with AIMA, and you want to know whether anything has moved. 

As of August 2026, renewals for most permit categories run through an online portal. The government has also reported results from its regularization operation, and the route you need depends on when your permit expires.  

In this article, we’ll take a look at the various AIMA strikes, the renewals portal, and what to do if you are still waiting on AIMA for feedback. 

AIMA Portugal News: Key Takeaways

AIMA isn’t on strike. The last confirmed national action ran on 1, 2, 3, and 5 June 2026 and has ended.

Blanket extensions of document validity are over. Which renewal channel you use depends on when your permit expired.

Permits expiring between 1 July 2025 and 31 October 2026 go through the AIMA Renewals Portal. Earlier expiries go through AIMA’s separate services platform.

Golden Visa (ARI) renewals have been exclusively online through the Renewals Portal since 16 February 2026.

In May 2026, the government reported 763,000 appointments and more than 525,000 decided files, around 473,000 of them favorable. These are activity totals, not a count of what’s left pending.

There have been two separate disputes, not one continuous shutdown. The distinction matters if you’re deciding whether to travel to an office. 

The 2024 overtime dispute 

In August 2024, the National Federation of Trade Unions of Public and Social Workers called on AIMA staff to stop accepting overtime requests, citing understaffing and uncompensated additional hours.  

That action targeted overtime only. Counters remained open during normal business hours, and the dispute pertains to 2024 rather than the current service picture. 

Strike action in 2026 

Two actions took place in 2026, both dated and both finished. On 30 March 2026, AIMA’s sociocultural mediators held a one-day strike over contracting arrangements.  

In June, the Migration Technicians’ Union called a strike on 1-3 and 5 June 2026, citing working conditions, staffing, and the use of outsourcing for technical work. 4 June was a public holiday, so offices were closed regardless, and 3 June coincided with a general strike, which compounded the disruption that week. 

Neither action continues. If a new stoppage is called, it will carry its own dated notice, and the practical effect is usually limited to the days named in that notice.  

What the government reported in May 2026 

Speaking to a joint parliamentary committee in May 2026, the Minister of the Presidency reported that public immigration services had held 763,000 appointments and decided more than 525,000 files through the extraordinary regularization operation, with around 473,000 favorable decisions.  

The operation has run since 2024, first under a dedicated recovery task force and, since that structure closed at the end of 2025, under AIMA alone. 

Read those numbers as activity totals, not as a measure of what’s left. The government didn’t publish a comparable figure for cases still outstanding, so subtracting these totals from the older backlog estimates would yield a number no one has confirmed.  

Earlier figures of more than 400,000 pending applications, including 350,000 inherited from SEF, describe the position in 2024 and shouldn’t be read as current.  

The same update provided figures specific to renewals: Around 360,000 expired-permit cases fell within scope, 193,000 people were notified, 104,000 attended appointments, and 82,000 had received new cards at the time of reporting. 

Complaints and legal action against AIMA 

Processing delays have generated a substantial volume of complaints and court filings against the agency, and administrative courts in Lisbon carry a large caseload of immigration matters.  

Court action in a delayed case is a real option, and in some cases, courts have required AIMA to issue a decision within a set period.  

It doesn’t speed up cases in general. Outcomes depend on the file itself and on what’s being asked of the court, so it’s a question for a qualified lawyer, not something you can plan around. 

Which renewal channel to use 

Portugal granted administrative extensions of document validity for several years, first during the pandemic and later due to processing delays.  

That regime was wound down during 2025, and blanket extensions no longer apply. In its place, there’s a set of online channels, split by permit type and expiry date. 

• Permit expired or expiring between 1 July 2025 and 31 October 2026: AIMA Renewals Portal
• Permit expired between 22 February 2020 and 30 June 2025: AIMA services platform, on notification
• ARI (Golden Visa) expired between 22 February 2020 and 31 October 2026: AIMA Renewals Portal, exclusively online since 16 February 2026
• CPLP permit: Dedicated CPLP procedure on the AIMA services platform
• EU permanent residence certificate or card: AIMA Renewals Portal, since 1 July 2026

The portal opens in phases by expiry month, so if your date falls outside the currently open range, you’ll have to wait until your month opens instead of submitting early. Full conditions are set out in AIMA’s official renewal routes notice. 

If your residence permit needs renewal 

Start by identifying which channel your expiry date sends you to, then check that AIMA has a current email and postal address on file for you, as AIMA notifies you at each stage.  

Portuguese law allows you to begin a renewal from 90 days before your permit expires, and submitting between 90 and 30 days out leaves room for the card to arrive. 

If your permit has already expired and you haven’t started a renewal, your position depends on when it expired and whether a process is currently running on your file. That’s a question to put to AIMA directly or to a lawyer, not one to settle from a general guide. 

If your application or appointment is delayed 

Keep every notification, payment reference, and submission receipt AIMA issues, since they record where your file stands. If you have a process underway, AIMA makes a confirmation document available through its portal.  

If a scheduled appointment falls on a day with a published stoppage, treat the appointment as standing unless AIMA cancels it, and check the agency’s notices the day before. 

Renewal, initial application, and investment-based permits each move through different queues, so a delay on one route doesn’t tell you much about another.  

AIMA is Portugal’s public agency for administrative functions in migration, asylum, and integration.  

It was created by Decree-Law 41/2023 of 2 June 2023 and began operating on 29 October 2023, taking over the administrative work of the Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (SEF) alongside the responsibilities of the former High Commission for Migration. 

The reorganization split SEF’s two roles. Administrative processing, residence permits, asylum, and integration support moved to AIMA. Border control, immigration enforcement, and the associated policing functions moved to police services, not to AIMA.  

That’s why AIMA handles your permit but doesn’t police borders, and why entry visas are issued by Portuguese consulates abroad rather than by the agency.