They make up immigration programs that don't work

I moved to Portugal on a startup visa. I handled the application, got the approval, obtained the visa at the consulate, and came to the country — everything on my own. And now I can't get a residence permit on my own — on a visa that is supposed to automatically mean I'm entitled to one. And I can’t even get it with the help of the local lawyers!

My criticism falls into two categories: the startup visa as an entrepreneurship program, and how it works after you arrive in the country.

The startup visa as an entrepreneurship program:

1. It doesn't encourage relocating existing businesses. Although that category exists, it's nearly impossible in practice. People invent non-existent projects, get approval for them, and then relocate teams and products that are already making money and paying taxes in other countries. This seems fundamentally contrary to the program's intent.

2. It's administered by a dubious agency. IAPMEI has no experts capable of properly assessing the viability of ideas or companies. They evaluate whether what's described in the application formally satisfies spoken AND unspoken internal rules — regardless of whether what's written is actually feasible, makes sense, or reflects how a business should be run at an early stage. It's also a very closed-off agency — it's essentially impossible to reach anyone there by phone. There are only two known email addresses: [email protected] and [email protected] — both are generic. Emails to these addresses can be ignored indefinitely.

3. It substitutes real incubation with coworking rentals. Program participants pay around €1,000 a year for a desk in an open-plan office. That's all they get. They say some incubators are better: that organize useful events, provide access to valuable networks, or can offer practical advice and legal consultations. But most of the accredited so-called incubators do nothing of the sort for their residents. And if they're supposed to — they often just fabricate the reporting.

The startup visa as an actual visa that's supposed to let an entrepreneur obtain residency: it doesn't work — because of AIMA. What I ran into:

1. AIMA and IAPMEI contradict each other on the required documents. For example, AIMA's website lists NISS (the social security number, marked as optional), while IAPMEI insists that NISS is not required under any circumstances.

2. AIMA offices don't care what's written on their own website. In addition to NISS, across four attempts to submit documents, I was sometimes asked for — and sometimes not asked for — the following: an apostilled master's degree with an English translation; an apostilled criminal record certificate no older than six months from the country of origin with an English translation; proof of arrival in the country (obtained from the police, though a hotel booking might work — they refused to accept a passport stamp); registration as a sole entrepreneur; invoices issued as a sole entrepreneur; proof of company incorporation (impossible without a residence permit); a contract with the incubator in Portuguese (they refused to accept it in English) — none of which appears on the document list on their website. Once the officer literally said: “I know what you’re trying to say me. But in this office we require those documents not listed on the website. If you’re so smart, apply in another office on another day“.

3. AIMA staff don't know their own laws. But they can't admit that in front of an immigrant. They might reluctantly admit it in front of a Portuguese-licensed lawyer.

4. AIMA offices likely have internal, non-public instructions that contradict the law.

5. The mechanism for appealing AIMA decisions doesn't work. The only viable option is to go to court — but that can only be done with a Portuguese-licensed lawyer.

6. AIMA staff refuse to issue any documentation — for example, confirming that they refused to accept my application due to the absence of NISS.

7. AIMA staff issued me a notice to voluntarily leave the country within 20 days, on the grounds that I am in the country illegally and failed to provide documents to regularize my status — despite the fact that I had provided all the documents required according to their website, provided several additional documents beyond that, and in lieu of NISS had provided a rejection of NISS from the social services office, because I am not entitled to have one. And despite the fact that I had a valid visa. On top of that, the staff were pressuring me to sign this document, misleading me that it was not a refusal and that no one was making me to leave the country.

I'm not giving up, and I will get what I'm owed from this government. But in the meantime, I feel like I'm dealing with fraudsters.