AIMA has two pieces of good news. And both are about speeding up document processing.

The renewals portal has now opened applications for residence permit holders whose permits expire in November and December. The entire process is now online: applicants can submit their applications, pay the fee and upload their documents without waiting for an invitation. This is especially relevant for those who need to keep their residence permits valid without interruptions, including because of new requirements from some banks.

At the same time, AIMA has for the first time given a specific deadline for resolving another long-standing problem. The agency promises to process all pending applications under the “golden visa” programme by the end of 2026 — almost 29,000 investors and their family members. Many of them have already been waiting for a decision for three or four years.

To speed things up, family members of the main investor will now be processed automatically together with the investor’s application, without a separate review of each family member. AIMA expects this to help clear the years-long backlog faster.