AIMA's Online Systems Keep Crashing Days Before April 15 Deadline — Thousands of Immigrants Left in Limbo

Three Days to Go, and the Portal Is Down

Portugal's immigration agency AIMA is suffering repeated IT failures just days before a critical April 15 deadline, leaving thousands of immigrants unable to access services, submit documents, or contact the agency through its online systems.

The failures are especially alarming because April 15 marks the expiry of a government-issued extension that has kept expired residence permits legally valid since October 2025. After that date, immigrants whose cards expired before June 30, 2025 — and who have not yet received renewals — could technically be carrying invalid documentation.

What Happened

AIMA's primary digital contact channel — the Formulário de Contacto, the online form that serves as the main gateway for immigrants to reach the agency — has been intermittently offline for several days, according to reports from Público Brasil. The system failures are preventing immigrants from scheduling appointments, submitting required documents, and checking the status of pending applications.

Two AIMA employees, speaking anonymously to Público Brasil, confirmed that the agency's IT infrastructure has been systematically failing, preventing case officers from processing applications. The employees noted that AIMA has already launched a public tender for a company to develop a unified digital system for immigrant services — a project budgeted at EUR 208,000 that is still under evaluation. Even once a contractor is selected, the new system is expected to take 12 months to build.

The April 15 Deadline

In October 2025, the government issued a regulation recognising expired residence cards as valid through April 15, 2026. This was an acknowledgement that AIMA simply could not process the backlog of renewals in time. The extension covered cards that had expired by June 30, 2025.

With the deadline now three days away and AIMA's systems malfunctioning, immigration lawyers are raising alarms. Célio Sauer, an immigration attorney, told Público Brasil that the timing is particularly damaging. "You cannot contact the agency, you cannot schedule appointments, and you cannot submit documents through the online system. Cases are stalled and people are being harmed," he said.

The situation is compounded by increasingly frequent street-level document checks by the Unidade Nacional de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (UNEF), the police unit responsible for immigration enforcement. According to the 2025 Annual Internal Security Report (RASI), more than 83,000 individuals were stopped and required to present documentation last year alone.

AIMA itself has previously advised immigrants to carry printed proof of their renewal applications at all times — a concession that the agency cannot guarantee timely processing.

Caught Between Approval and Rejection

The system failures are producing contradictory outcomes for some applicants. Regina Peixoto Troina, a Brazilian citizen who applied for her residence permit and was seen in person at AIMA's Porto office in November 2025, received an email days later saying her file was missing her Social Security registration number (NISS) — a document she had already submitted.

In January 2026, a second email informed her that her application had been approved and that her residence card would arrive by post. In late March, a third email reversed the decision entirely, stating the application was rejected due to inadequate documentation.

"We are truly distressed, because we no longer know what to do," her son Walter Troina Filho told Público Brasil. "My mother has all the documentation — she is the most organised person in our house when it comes to these things. She submitted everything AIMA asked for, and now she is in limbo because the systems are down and nobody responds."

What Happens After April 15

Immigration lawyers and advocacy groups widely expect the government to extend the April 15 deadline, given that AIMA is nowhere near clearing the backlog of expired permits. However, as of April 12, no formal extension has been announced.

If the deadline passes without an extension, immigrants carrying expired cards could face difficulties with employers, landlords, banks, and — most critically — police document checks, even if they have pending renewal applications on file.

AIMA did not respond to Público Brasil's request for comment before publication.

What Should You Do?

If you are an immigrant in Portugal with an expired residence card and a pending renewal:

• Carry proof of your renewal application — printed confirmation emails, SMS receipts, or screenshots of your AIMA submission
• Keep your NISS, NIF, and employment contract accessible — these can help demonstrate your legal status during a document check
• Try AIMA's contact form during off-peak hours — the system has been intermittently available, and early mornings have reportedly been more reliable
• Consult an immigration lawyer if you have received contradictory communications from AIMA about your application status