AIMA strike on 1, 2, 3 and 5 June 2026: what Portugal residence permit applicants should know

The STM lodged a formal pré-aviso de greve (strike notice) on 27 May 2026. The notice was sent to AIMA leadership, the Secretary of State for the Presidency and Immigration, and the partner associations that supply cultural mediators to the agency (Notícias ao Minuto). The union represents AIMA’s migration technicians, the staff who handle the in-person service points: biometric capture, residence card delivery and document submission for residence permit applications, including the Portugal Golden Visa (ARI) route.

The STM’s stated reasons include what the union describes as a “crescente degradação das condições de trabalho” — a growing degradation of working conditions, alongside insufficient human and technical resources, the absence of a defined career path for migration technicians, slow processing of regularisation cases, and concerns over the outsourcing of complex technical functions (ECO).

AIMA had not commented publicly as of 27 May 2026: “A Agência Lusa tentou obter um comentário da AIMA sobre o anúncio da greve… até ao momento, não obteve resposta” (PÚBLICO; Observador, 27 May 2026). At the time of writing, the agency has not published a list of cancelled appointments or a reschedule mechanism on aima.gov.pt.

Several practical points follow from the union notice and AIMA's current silence.

• AIMA is not, at the time of writing, proactively notifying booked applicants that their appointments will be cancelled or rescheduled. Reports from the applicant community confirm that bookings remain on the system despite the strike notice (Nomad Gate community thread).
• It is not currently possible to say in advance which service points will operate at reduced capacity and which will close. Adherence rates on Portuguese public-sector strikes vary by region and by working day.
• An appointment booking does not, by itself, mean the service takes place on the booked date. Applicants who travel to a closed or unstaffed office may need to rebook through the standard channel.

The most reliable signal will be the office status on the morning of the appointment. Applicants should monitor aima.gov.pt for any official notice the agency issues between now and Monday, and should keep their lawyer or representative informed of the booking details.

The strike is likely to compound existing turnaround delays on residence card delivery. AIMA inherited a substantial backlog of pending immigration cases from the dissolved SEF, and the agency itself has publicly acknowledged the pressure on its in-person services. A four-day stoppage in early June will, at minimum, displace the affected appointments into later slots and add to processing queues that are already heavily booked.

Investors whose residence card or renewal is already in progress should not expect their case to be expedited as a result of the strike, and should not expect AIMA to issue individual updates to file status during the affected dates.

A separate nationwide general strike has been called by the CGTP trade union confederation for Wednesday 3 June 2026, in opposition to the government's proposed labour-law reform. Public transport is expected to be heavily affected (ECO, 30 May 2026). For applicants with an AIMA appointment on 3 June, this means two overlapping disruptions on the same day: the AIMA migration-technicians strike already announced for that date, and likely difficulty travelling within Lisbon and Porto because of the transport stoppage. Of the four affected AIMA days, Wednesday is the one to plan around most cautiously.

The following steps are practical, low-risk and within the applicant's control. They are not a substitute for legal advice on a specific file.

1. Check office status on the morning of the appointment. Look at aima.gov.pt and at the local AIMA office's published notices before travelling.
2. Contact your immigration lawyer about reschedule strategy. A lawyer who already represents the file can advise whether to attend, defer or rebook, and can act on the file if AIMA later issues a formal cancellation list.
3. Document any wasted journey. If the office is closed or unstaffed, keep a record of the travel and the closure notice. This documentation can support a later request for a priority rebooking on the grounds that the original appointment was disrupted by the strike, not by the applicant.
4. Avoid commitments that depend on the appointment being honoured on the original date. Where possible, delay travel arrangements, document collection abroad, or onward visa applications that rely on the residence card being issued in the strike week.

The strike comes against a backdrop of a large, publicly acknowledged backlog of pending immigration cases at AIMA, which the Portuguese government has been working through since the agency replaced the SEF. Reporting through 2025 and into 2026 has described a backlog in the order of several hundred thousand pending cases (ECO). Four days of strike action will not, on its own, change the size of that backlog, but it will further delay the appointments that are the primary route to clearing it.

Primary sources cited above:

• PÚBLICO, "Anunciada greve de quatro dias para a próxima semana na AIMA", 27 May 2026
• Observador, "Anunciada greve de quatro dias para a próxima semana na AIMA", 27 May 2026
• ECO, "Trabalhadores da AIMA anunciam greve de quatro dias para a próxima semana", 27 May 2026
• Notícias ao Minuto, 27 May 2026
• ECO, "Empresas permitem teletrabalho no dia de greve geral", 30 May 2026
• DN Brasil, "Técnicos de migração da AIMA estarão em greve na próxima semana"
• Esquerda.net, mediator-team context
• Nomad Gate community thread, applicant-side confirmation
• AIMA, official notices

This article reflects the position on 31 May 2026. It will be updated if AIMA publishes a formal notice on appointment status, or if the union announces a suspension or extension of the strike.

If you hold an AIMA appointment in the affected week, or if you are concerned about the impact of the strike on your residence card or Portugal Golden Visa file, you can request a review of your case with the My Golden Visa team. My Golden Visa cannot reschedule AIMA appointments on your behalf, and cannot predict AIMA’s response to the strike; advisers can help you understand the procedural options available to you and your lawyer.