AIMA and Administrative Litigation
Steps and procedures before AIMA, including applications, notices, complaints and administrative appeals, as well as assessment of court remedies in cases of delay, absence of a decision, missing appointments and other problems affecting immigration files.
What is included
- Applications and filings with AIMA
- Appointment requests and scheduling
- Replies to notices and document requests
- Administrative complaints
- Hierarchical appeals
- Formal submissions over delay or absence of a decision
- Assessment of court injunction prospects
- Administrative action to compel a due decision
- Injunction to protect rights, freedoms and guarantees
- Follow-up of files with no appointment scheduled
- Requests for access to information and to the file
- Review of refusals and strategy definition
Every situation is assessed individually. These services are provided within the remit of a Trainee Lawyer, under the supervision of Dr. João Nogueira Marques, Lawyer.
What helps prepare for your consultation
- A dated list of applications, contacts, appointments and replies connected with the case.
- Submission receipts, your case reference and any AIMA notices already available.
- An account of the specific effects of the delay or decision on your circumstances, with available supporting records.
- Evidence of access to the platform or service channels used, including attempts that received no reply.
- The documents supporting the original application as they were submitted, not only the final version you kept.
- A note of what has already been tried by other routes, such as appointment requests, complaints or contacts made through third parties.
What we review with you
We reconstruct the case history and distinguish a missing appointment, a pending decision and an adverse decision. We assess the administrative steps already taken and the feasibility of further measures, including possible court proceedings. We explain the scope, risks and information needed before defining the strategy. We separate what may still be resolved administratively from what only progresses through the courts, because each requires different preparation. We also set out which elements remain to be confirmed and which decisions rest solely with the competent authority.
Official information
Common questions before a consultation
My case has stalled. What can I do?
The first step is to reconstruct the history with dates: what was submitted, when, through which channel and what replies came back. That timeline shows whether the case is genuinely stalled or waiting on something from you, and it determines the appropriate step.
What is the difference between no appointment and no decision?
They are different situations and they call for different preparation. Being unable to book is a problem of access to the procedure; no decision after everything has been submitted is a problem of inaction. We separate the two, because the available steps are not the same.
Is it worth persisting through the usual channels?
Often it is, and a record of those attempts has value in itself. Keeping dates, references and replies — or their absence — documents the administrative history. We look at what has already been tried before suggesting you repeat a channel that produced nothing.
At what point are court proceedings considered?
When the available administrative steps prove exhausted or unsuited to the case. That assessment requires seeing what was requested, what was answered and what effects the delay is producing. We explain the scope, the risks and the information needed before any decision.
The delay is affecting my work and my life. Does that matter?
It matters to the assessment, which is why we ask you to describe the specific effects with whatever records you have. Work, health, study or travel circumstances are then documented rather than described in general terms, which makes the case stronger to present.
I received an adverse decision. How is it assessed?
We read the full decision alongside what was submitted, to identify what it relied on and which elements were or were not considered. Keep the complete decision and proof of the date you were notified, because both shape the options available.
Do I need all the documents before the consultation?
No. A timeline with dates and the case reference is enough to start. Incomplete paperwork is common in these cases, and the consultation itself serves to identify what is missing and which body it should be obtained from.
Can the case be followed remotely?
Yes. Appointments are held by video call or telephone, in Portuguese, English or Spanish, with documents sent in advance. Anyone in Porto, or who prefers meeting in person, can book at the office.
Editorial responsibility: Carvalhos Advocacia. General information; confirm the current position for your case before acting.