Hey guys,
So I successfully appeared for the appointment. It was AIMA that handled everything. Not SEF. Also I confirm that the appointment date and time was the same as expected even though it was originally scheduled by SEF in December 2023 on my visa. It was held in Lisbon this April 2024 by AIMA. With the application form that had to be handfilled by me, had it's letterhead as AIMA. Not SEF, for obvious reasons- reformation.
From Porto at 5:45am I went with all my documents on Flixbus. Got to Lisbon at after 8am as I needed to visit the bank and print the last 3 months statement and take out some cash (best way to deal in AIMA, in my opinion). So my appointments was 11:30am.
Best to appear at least 45 mins earlier as Lisbon AIMA branch is very busy although you need to wait for your scheduled time. But you would have gotten a hang of how it's gonna be if you showed up without having to rush.
ALL MY DOCUMENTS. Not just the necessary ones. To my surprise, they asked for Social security document- SEGURANÇA SOCIAL (which was the last thing I added to my credentials before the appointment).
Thankfully I eventually did 'cause the employee who interviewed me was not that smiling lol) + plus €178 fee estimates + biometrics capturing. Then they gave me the receipt of payment and another document confirming the details of my TRC request, all written in Portuguese.
Yeah I preped well enough and submitted a bunch of docs, a bit nervous but you need not be.
DOCUMENTS I TOOK TO AIMA APPOINTMENT:
- Paper showing my appointment date (I printed the webpage of the link on my visa about the schedule)
- Passport with my visa on it of course
- Travel ticket from my home country to Portugal
- 3 months bank statement from a Portuguese bank
- Self employment (my activity registered on Financas) or your employment contract.
-Green receipts printed on Financas (as I am self employed)
- NIF document
- Utente [Portuguese Health insurance document]. So I didn't have to buy a private health insurance
- NHR document or cert (not necessary but doesn't hurt to present it if you have one).
- Attestado about my residence, obtained from Junta (my local parish)
-[Portuguese] Social Security Number (if you are not self-employed, your employer should provide you with this or at least advise you on how to obtain it. As far as I know, your Portuguese employers is required to figure that out for you).
- Lease or rental contract document obtained from my landlady (I had a battle with this one as she was a bit hesitant and took like 2 weeks to get it, be careful I had to renegotiate my lease contract. After I got it, I didn't hesitate to put the contract on Financas with the help of my accountant. Then I printed it out the proper official document from Financas).
Get all the requirements ready and all your worries would be gone. It took about 30 to 45 mins from sitting in the hall (queue) and the interview itself. Wishing myself good luck.
Hope this helps someone.
