From historic backlogs to efficient closed loops, Portugal's immigration system is undergoing a substantial transformation.
On December 18, 2025, the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service (AIMA) announced the latest official results: over the past 15 months, approximately 1 million historic immigration backlog cases have been processed, with more than 750,000 business transactions completed, and over 310,000 residence cards issued.
This is not merely a data update, but signifies the beginning of a new phase for Portugal's immigration approval system, transitioning from years of "backlogs—waiting" to an efficient, predictable, and executable new stage.
Comprehensive Improvement in Approval Efficiency
For a long time, the core pain point of Portugal's immigration approval process has been the efficiency of administrative execution. Historic backlog cases have occupied a large amount of approval resources, leading to new applications being passively queued, resulting in the real issues of "slow approvals, slow card production, and slow issuance."
The key significance of this round of clearing is:
• Systematic clearing of historic backlog cases completed
• A complete closed loop formed for approval, card production, and issuance
• The operational rhythm of the immigration system has significantly recovered
Actual Benefits for Applicants of Portugal's Golden Visa
• Approval resources fully released: with the clearing of historic backlogs completed, Golden Visa applications are no longer long occupied by old cases, and newly submitted applications return to a normal processing rhythm.
• Smooth processes and more predictable outcomes: approvals, card production, and residence card issuance have entered a synchronized advancement state, with more stable waiting periods and clearer process nodes.
• Execution guarantees for applications such as the Golden Visa have been validated: the immigration bureau has actually completed the processing of millions of cases, which is not a planned target, but a result that has already occurred.
Against the backdrop of a fully accelerated immigration approval system and clearer pathways for identity establishment, the appeal of Portugal's Golden Visa has further enhanced certainty and operability. For families with clear immigration plans, now is a critical time to advance and complete identity arrangements as soon as possible.
If you are interested in immigrating to Portugal, you can apply for the Portuguese Fund Investment Immigration Program, where investors can invest from €500,000 to buy into a fund, allowing three generations of the family to apply for Portuguese Golden Residence Status.
Additionally, you can also immigrate to Portugal through the Portuguese Cultural and Artistic Donation Program. According to the regulations, applicants only need to invest €200,000 to apply for Portuguese Golden Residence Status for three generations of the family, achieving low-cost and convenient access to an EU passport.
For more information on immigration to Portugal, please contact Mainland China: 400-138-2929, Hong Kong Customer Service Center: (852)2802 8798