Staying compliant with Golden visa rules until you reach citizenship is a challenge in itself. Refusals by AIMA with golden visa applications stem from the following reasons associated with the case. Most denials come down to
- Past Schengen visa refusal (other member states or SIS alert)
- Expired documents (eg. criminal record cert),
- non-compliant investments (divesting early),
- Simple filing errors (invalid documents).
- Blacklisted / Sanctioned countries (eg. Russia, Belarus, Iran).
- Not meeting minimum stay (14 days/year) for renewal cases
- criminal history (over 1-year sentence), or
- issues with underlying Schengen visa applications
- Not declaring source of funds
- Not meeting family dependent criteria
AIMA administrative delays cause significant frustration for applicants. All documents originating from a foreign country must be properly translated and authenticated (using apostile or legalized) to be accepted by authorities. Missing docs cause significant delays or pile up.
For complicated cases, it is best to hire a lawyer to do your case file and seek proper advice.
Applicants can appeal the visa refusal to give a visa in Compliance with Portuguese domestic law within 15 days.
