Vlad Shifter
Founder
Entrepreneur and corporate consultant with 10+ years of experience with PwC, P&G, Coca Cola, Unilever and others. TechCrunch 200 Alum.
Stuck with AIMA? We Escalate Portuguese Residence Cases.
Hundreds of thousands of cases sit in the AIMA backlog. If yours is frozen, a missed appointment, no decision, an expiring status, there is a legal route to force movement. We run it.
- Legal proceedings that force legal deadlines
- 7,000+ cases handled
- Free support on necessary appeals
- HQ in Portugal
- 7,000+ cases handled
- 99.2% completed-case success rate
- Legal escalation with free support on necessary appeals
- 30+ nationalities
- HQ in Portugal
AIMA, the agency that replaced SEF, inherited a large, still-growing caseload. Its own legal target for a decision is 90 days. In Lisbon and Porto the real wait runs 9 to 18 months. If your appointment keeps slipping or your file has gone silent, waiting longer rarely fixes it. A legal escalation does.
Is your case stuck?
Appointments keep slipping
Your biometrics or renewal appointment keeps getting cancelled or pushed, with no replacement date.
No decision past the legal target
Your file has had no decision well past the 90-day legal target.
Status expiring or lapsed
Your residence status is expiring or has lapsed while you wait for AIMA to act.
No response from AIMA
You cannot reach anyone at AIMA and the portal shows no movement.
Family reunification frozen
A family-reunification file is frozen and separating your family.
If none of this matches your situation and you are just getting started in Portugal, explore the D7 or D3 visa routes, or see the full Portugal visas overview.
How escalation works
Five steps, one dedicated case team, from first review to resolution.
1. Case review
We assess your specific situation, what was filed, what is missing, where it stalled, and confirm whether a legal escalation is the right lever.
2. Legal grounds + filing
We prepare and file the legal action that requires AIMA to operate within its legal deadlines. This is a legitimate, increasingly common route to unblock administrative delays.
3. Document completion
We make sure your file is complete, because a legal push only works cleanly when the underlying application leaves AIMA no excuse.
4. Follow-up + communications
We handle correspondence and follow-ups through the process until your case moves.
5. Resolution + appeals
We support the outcome and provide free support on any necessary appeals.
Let your personal case manager and lawyer handle all the paperwork
No more dealing with bureaucracy, we take care of every detail.
1. Understand Your Immigration Options
During a consultation, our expert evaluates your profile and outlines pathways, helping you make an informed decision.
2. Tailored Strategy for Approval
Lawyer analyzes your case, identifies challenges, and creates a step-by-step roadmap to maximize success.
3. Complete Document Preparation
With minimal input from you, we handle certificates, translations, and applications.
4. Smooth Application Process
Your manager schedules appointments, ensures compliance, communicates with authorities, and tracks progress.
5. Bureaucratic Tasks Solved
We handle finding housing, tax registrations, and residence permits, eliminating paperwork stress.
Send us your case. We will tell you if we can move it.
Describe where your AIMA case is stuck and when it stalled. We assess whether a legal escalation applies, what it involves, and what it costs. If escalation will not help, we say so. The €40 consultation secures a dedicated expert.
Why legal action does not hurt your case
It accelerates, not antagonizes.
The action simply requires AIMA to act within the deadlines the law already sets. It is a procedural remedy, not a fight.
It is common now.
Legal escalation against AIMA delays has become a mainstream response to a systemic backlog, not an exotic move.
You are not left alone at the finish.
Court fees, document preparation, filing and follow-up are included, and necessary appeals are supported at no extra service fee.
Pricing
AIMA: Complete Legal Support
Court fees, document preparation, case filing, follow-up communications, and full legal support until your case is resolved, plus free support on any necessary appeals. Suitable for delayed case processing, biometrics-appointment needs, and family reunification.
The cost depends on where your case stands: what has been filed, what is missing, and how far AIMA's process has already run. We review your file and confirm the exact figure at the consultation, before you commit to anything.
We cannot promise a specific timeline: AIMA's speed is outside our control. What we can do is force the process into the legal deadlines and manage it end to end.Get your case reviewed
About “Relovisa Advisors”
Relovisa is a premium full-service immigration consultancy (HQ Portugal, "Made in Portugal"). It is not a law firm: it works with licensed immigration lawyers and tax advisors per jurisdiction. Relovisa delivers EU/UK/US residency and citizenship to founders, skilled professionals, investors, and remote workers, handling the paperwork end-to-end. Distinctive: its own Portuguese EOR/payroll entity, packaged with the Portugal D3 and Spain DNV routes, plus deep specialist depth on the France Talent (Passeport Talent) innovative-project route, including DRIEETS dossiers and the no-incubator route with two letters of support.
99.2%
Average success rate
99.2% of clients get their visas and residence permits
7000+
Cases · 30+ countries
Clients across North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the CIS
80+
Experts and lawyers
Professionals from around the world
8 years
Average experience
In immigration law & consulting
Our team, lawyers and partners
Our legal experts and professionals take care of everything, from document preparation to final approval, with 24/7 support, so you don't have to worry about a thing.
Olia Nemirovski
COO
10+ years specialist in client and partner relations, driving innovation through deep customer understanding.
Evgenia
Immigration lawyer
Licensed lawyer with deep knowledge of UK immigration law, she excels as a case manager for Talent Visas with 99.8% success rate.
Vladimir
Immigration consultant
Over three years of project management experience in German work immigration processes.
Daniela
Immigration Lawyer
Her expertise includes legal representation in court proceedings, expedited solutions for delayed residence processes, and all visa programs.
Petra
Immigration consultant
Specializes in D visas: Digital Nomad, D7, D2, D3, etc. She has experience working with various types of income.
Marilia
Immigration Attorney
Lawyer with 4 years experience works with global mobility processes for self-employed individuals through D8, D2, or IT workers through D3/Blue Card.
Thiago
Immigration Attorney
Relocated more than 300 high-qualified professionals to Portugal since 2018. Currently holding 100% success in lawsuits against AIMA (200+).
Vladislav
Tax Advisor
A licensed tax consultant with thousands of cases handled worldwide, from EU countries to Hong Kong and the USA. Specializes in finding solutions in the most unique and challenging situations.
Thomas
Tax Advisor
Thomas specializes in crypto business consultancy, with notable projects including market research for Bit2Me, a major Southern European cryptocurrency exchange.
FAQs
What is the AIMA backlog?
AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo) replaced SEF and inherited a large, still-growing caseload. Its legal target for a decision is 90 days, but real waits in Lisbon and Porto run 9 to 18 months, which is why escalation exists.
How long does the legal process take?
It varies by case. Historically some resolve in as little as 2 weeks and most within about 3 months, but we cannot promise a timeline because AIMA's pace is outside our control. At the consultation we give you a realistic read on your situation.
What exactly is included?
Court fees, document preparation, case filing, follow-up communications and full legal support until resolution, plus free support on any necessary appeals. For lighter, pay-as-you-go Portugal tasks that do not need the full escalation track, see our professional services page.
Will taking legal action against AIMA hurt my case?
No, the opposite. The action requires AIMA to work within its legal deadlines, which accelerates the file. It is a legitimate and increasingly common remedy for administrative delay, not an adversarial attack on your application.
Can you guarantee my case will be approved or resolved by a date?
No. We do not guarantee outcomes or dates. We force the process into its legal deadlines and manage it end to end, which is what moves stuck cases.
What if my residence status has already expired while I wait?
This is one of the most common reasons to escalate. We review your exact status, address any lapse as part of the filing, and press for a decision. Bring the details to the consultation so we can advise precisely.
My family-reunification case is frozen. Can you help?
Yes. Family reunification is explicitly within the scope of this service. Frozen reunification files are a frequent escalation trigger.
How much does it cost?
Pricing depends on your case: what has already been filed, what is missing, and how far along AIMA's process is. We confirm the exact figure for your case at the consultation, before you commit to anything.
What legal grounds do you use?
The action rests on AIMA's obligation to decide within the statutory deadline. When it exceeds that deadline, there is a procedural remedy to compel a decision. We prepare the grounds specific to your file.