Almeida & Associados - Law Firm reviews & trust report
Almeida & Associados is a law firm based in Lisbon, Portugal, specializing in various areas of law, including immigration law, tax law, real estate law, and sports law. The firm provides legal assistance to both individuals and businesses, focusing on helping clients navigate complex legal frameworks in Portugal. Their services include advising on immigration processes, tax compliance, and real estate transactions, catering to both local and foreign clients.
The company also offers specific immigration services such as the D2 visa for entrepreneurs and the D7 visa for retirees, along with the Golden Visa program aimed at non-EU citizens seeking residency through investment. Almeida & Associados is committed to supporting its clients with knowledgeable legal guidance tailored to their unique needs, making it a reliable partner for navigating Portugal's legal landscape.
Almeida & Associados - Law Firm has a positive customer experience.
Almeida & Associados receives overwhelmingly positive feedback from clients who appreciate the firm's expertise in navigating complex legal processes, particularly for immigration and property transactions in Portugal. Reviewers frequently highlight the friendly and professional demeanor of the staff, noting their responsiveness and patience throughout challenging procedures like obtaining visas and citizenship.
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Many express gratitude for specific attorneys, such as Abdullah Karolia and Cátia Vaz, who are praised for their dedication and knowledge. However, a few customers report negative experiences, citing issues with communication and delays in response times, which detracted from their overall satisfaction. Despite these criticisms, the majority of clients feel confident in recommending Almeida & Associados for legal services.
Each source counts by its number of reviews. Only reviews written by people are scored.
Rating, volume, share of the score, six-month trend and fake-review risk for each source
Source
Rating
Reviews
Weight
6-mo
Fake risk
★
Trustpilot
Imported Trustpilot reviews
4.7
41
100%
+2.0
● Low
4.7 / 5 overall
=
41 reviews across 1 scored source
How fake risk works ⓘ
Reputation trend
Monthly average rating from reviews written by people · latest review Oct 2025.
Last 3 months
5.0▲ 2.0
12-month avg
4.4
All-time
4.7
Category avg
4.4
Monthly averageCategory average
Monthly average rating and review count
Month
Average
Reviews
Dec 24
5.0
2
Jan 25
5.0
4
Feb 25
4.3
6
Mar 25
5.0
1
Apr 25
—
0
May 25
1.0
1
Jun 25
1.0
1
Jul 25
5.0
2
Aug 25
5.0
1
Sep 25
5.0
2
Oct 25
5.0
1
What people praise & complain about
Share of positive (4–5★) and negative (1–2★) reviews mentioning each topic · based on the 41 most recent reviews.
Top praiseof 38 positive reviews
Helpful support26%
10 mentions
Professionalism26%
10 mentions
Customer service24%
9 mentions
Fast & efficient16%
6 mentions
“Portugal has its own way of doing things, and it is very helpful to have competent professionals to guide you along t...”
On “Helpful support” · Oct 28, 2025
Top complaintsof 3 negative reviews
Payment issues67%
2 mentions
“I had a particularly bad experience with a lawyer Jessica Cruz from this law firm and I would strongly recommend not...”
On “Payment issues” · Jun 30, 2025
How it compares
Same method for every company: overall rating, legitimacy checks, the average rating of reviews mentioning each area and the 6-month trend · Law Firms.
Overall rating and review count for this company and similar companies
Friendly Faces to Help You Negotiate the Legal Maze
We engaged Almeida & Associates for help in applying for a D7 Pensioner's visa and for help in buying a house for our move. They were very friendly and patient in helping us with all the challenges t... See more
I have three attorneys at Almeida & Associates and they have all been invaluable. I am in the process of moving to Portugal and have used this firm's assistance in obtaining a visa, buying a home, an... See more
I recently engaged the assistance of Almeida & Associates Law Firm for helping me purchase an apartment in Lisbon. It was a very smooth experience. They were very responsive and clear in their communi... See more
Such a great help from them, especially Thabata & Ana. It is definitely very difficult to obtain residence in Portugal, even with a Portuguese spouse, but patience is a virtue. I am deeply grateful fo... See more
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Friendly Faces to Help You Negotiate the Legal Maze
We engaged Almeida & Associates for help in applying for a D7 Pensioner's visa and for help in buying a house for our move. They were very friendly and patient in helping us with all the challenges that arose in both processes. Portugal has its own way of doing things, and it is very helpful to have competent professionals to guide you along the way.
I have three attorneys at Almeida & Associates and they have all been invaluable. I am in the process of moving to Portugal and have used this firm's assistance in obtaining a visa, buying a home, and dealing with income tax issues. All three attorneys have been knowledgeable, extremely helpful, and always readily available. I am certain I could not have accomplished any of what I have without their help.
I recently engaged the assistance of Almeida & Associates Law Firm for helping me purchase an apartment in Lisbon. It was a very smooth experience. They were very responsive and clear in their communication. I thank Attorney Cátia Vaz and her team for being so helpful and on top of the process. I do recommend them without reservation if you are planning to buy a property in Portugal.
Such a great help from them, especially Thabata & Ana. It is definitely very difficult to obtain residence in Portugal, even with a Portuguese spouse, but patience is a virtue. I am deeply grateful for their one year of constant support by arranging appointments, giving detailed explanations on the required documents, and even cross-checking when the card would arrive. Thanks to both of them, the entire process was much easier.
I would like to sincerely thank both lawyers for their professionalism and for guiding me through every step of my family reunification process.
I had a wonderful experience with this law firm. Mateus Ferreira could not have been more knowledgeable, persistent, professional or any nicer than he was. He's got a warm heart and he brings great credit to his firm and to the legal profession. His team, including Ana Braga, are also wonderful. I can't thank them enough nor can give them any higher praise. As a fellow member of the legal profession, I can assure that Almeida & Associados are top notch.
Abdullah Karolia and the team have been tremendous in helping me secure my Golden Visa. Having been stuck in the AIMA/SEF system for many years with another law firm, Abdullah was able to take on my case and secure the visa which arrived yesterday for me and my wife. Very personal service, with e-mail calls and even WhatsApp contact. I’d highly recommend!!
I had a particularly bad experience with a lawyer Jessica Cruz from this law firm and I would strongly recommend not to do business with them.-
Promises have been made that my problem can be solved ...until the money was paid.
(Of course the invoice was send right away. )
Afterwards, there were no answers. -
I had to ask a friend in lisbon calling Mrs Cruz to get any information.-
of course, the problem was not solved -even 4 month later. I received contradicting lazy excuses ,well below the expectations are the standard of any law firm.
Very disappointing experience - there were clearly just interested to make some easy money.
Contacted the practice 1 month ago with an urgent matter, and had a video call the next day. During that I was assured that they would take care of the matter (immigration related and a common process).
They handed me a template document for a high fee, assuring me multiple times that it will be accepted by the authorities. After a month of chasing and slow to non existent replies to my emails, that document was rejected by the authorities and no refund was made by Almeida & Associados who had made the mistake.
Please find a proper firm to do what you need to do, these people are scammers.
They made the immigration process easy, comfortable, and a whole lot less stressful. This is a professional company that knows what they are doing. Highly recommend Filipe. He’s first-class.
They were very helpful throughout my entire process of student visa and helped me gather the papers needed for the appointment and helped me during the appointment and made the process quick and simple.
We used Almeida & Associados for our move from the USA to Portugal. They assisted us through the whole process, guiding us with each step, including accompanying us to the Portugal Immigration Office in Lisbon, and our new bank to set up our accounts. Their service was first-class and extremely professional. We will also be using them as our Tax Representatives here in Portugal, and they will be our first call for other legal-related services as we need them.
My husband and I feel incredibly fortunate to have found Almeida and Associates to guide us through the D7 visa application process. Initially, we thought about handling everything ourselves, but after careful consideration, we decided to seek expert help—and we're so glad we did! Trying to navigate the process on our own would have been completely overwhelming.
Thabata, our lead attorney, was exceptional. She was thorough, clear in her explanations, and always accessible to answer our questions. Not to mention, she is a truly lovely person. We also had the pleasure of working with Mila, who assisted us in opening our Novo Banco account, and she was equally wonderful.
The firm offers a wide range of services, and we were fortunate to meet with their in-house accountant, Andreia, whose expertise was invaluable in helping us understand Portugal's tax structure and its implications.
Lastly, we had the opportunity to meet everyone in person during our recon trip to Portugal, which made the whole process even more personal and reassuring.
We highly recommend Almeida and Associates to anyone considering relocating to Portugal!
I received my D-7 resident visa today. The team at Ada were most helpful in making this happen. The entire process has taken about six months. In that time we had a series of three young lawyers and there seemed to be some turnover but there was always continuity and our current lawyer, Filipe, has been great. I am happy to recommend them to anyone looking to relocate to Portugal.
I wanted things to work out with this firm SO MUCH! I had the highest hopes because anywhere you look them up it's 5 stars across the board so it's so disappointing writing this. Here's what happened -
I google immigration lawyer and this firm is the first to pop up i send out an inquiry and while I'm waiting for a reply I begin looking them up everywhere I can and everywhere I look it's 4 or 5 stars and people are singing their praises and than I get an email back from them pretty quickly about a consultation. They connect me with the lawyer named Thabata and we set up a time and she has their financial department reach out to pay the consultation fee. I'm stoked at this point! This is ACTUALLY happening!
Cut to two hours before our meeting the morning of (and mind you there is a 6 hour time difference so our meeting is at 9:30am central American time which is 3:30 Lisbon time) I get an email from Thabata saying she isn't feeling well and would like me to send another time that works best for me. I'm fuming when I read that because if it's almost 3:30 over there than you've been at work all day long why did you even bother going in? I know sometimes these things come on all of the sudden and I know people can't control that but this was literally the only time I had available all week.
I swallow my pride and let her know that I hope she's OK and if we could do two days from now at the same time. The next morning I notice I still haven't received an email back and the only window of time we have to email each other is 6:30 to 10:00am american time. So I send an email just checking if that time works as I kind of need some kind of confirmation since I have no other time during the week. I get an automated response saying she's out until the 14th (Friday). I panic and email the help desk as I am really trying to get a jump on this and will talk to anyone. I get an email back from a lovely Jessica Cruz who says she would love to assist me with a consultation and that the next day at 9:30 works.
Cut to 9:30am we get on a zoom and there is a good 25 second delay. We are both interrupting each other and I'm getting nervous because I don't want her to think I'm some rude American who keeps interrupting so I just let her talk and ask only super important questions. It's kind of a disaster but she's really kind and tells me she will email me her rates and my options which left me with some hope. It has now been over a week and haven't heard from anyone at the firm with any kind of rates or options. I'm so disappointed because I wanted this to work so bad! I understand that there is always one or two that slips through the cracks and that doesn't mean it's a bad buisness and I'm assuming I'm just one of the ones that slipped through the cracks but it just sucks.
So go for it and consult them but just be aware there is no sense of urgency whatsoever and if you're in a hurry you might take some extra time to reach out to multiple firms to set up consultations because these people move at the most glacial pace.
I worked with Ana Clara Maia and with Abdullah Karolia on obtaining my Portuguese citizenship by naturalization. They made the difficult process of collecting citizenship paperwork as easy as Amazon shopping. I was always met with prompt responses, timely, correct and supportive advice, and overall I felt supported by the whole amazing team. My case was not the easiest but thanks to their expertise and individual approach we navigated the challenges seamlessly. I just got my citizenship and I could not be more grateful. Thank you! For anyone who is looking for a trustful, reliable and expert partner in navigating the Portuguese immigration, this is it!
Over the last 18 months, Almeida & Assoc. have provided me with invaluable advice and guidance in obtaining my Portuguese tax I.D, medical insurance, and personally assisted me at the bank when opening my accounts.
They have subsequently assisted me every step of the way in successfully obtaining my D-7 visa.
I can unreservedly recommend their services to anyone considering moving to Portugal.
Personal and timely, very considerate.
I can recommend Almeida & Associados to everyone.
Cátia Vaz went out of her way to help us with buying a house in Portugal - there were several obstacles and she solved all of them. Top lawyer!
This firm has been a pleasure to work with over the last 6 months. Cátia Vaz and her associates are very detail oriented and take the necessary actions to ensure our needs are met. We could not be happier with their service.
I had a great experience consulting with Almeida & Associados. Their staff is really polite. I have hired their services for a very complicated scenario, that is employing a person from Morroco and apply for his visa. Mr Mateus was appointed for this task and I must say he is really very polite and a good person. He has helped me with every aspect. Sometimes he is not able to respond because of his busy schedules but as soon as he can, gets back to you. Wether you send them email or whatsapp or call them, they will eventually respond you. No matter how frequent you contact and ask him 100s of question, his team is always available to answer you. After almost 8 to 9 months of working I was able to get Visa for my new employee from Morroco embassy. This firm has a very good experience working with embassies and solving immigration related issues!
Almeida & Associados is a law firm based in Lisbon, Portugal, specializing in various areas of law, including immigration law, tax law, real estate law, and sports law. The firm provides legal assistance to both individuals and businesses, focusing on helping clients navigate complex legal frameworks in Portugal. Their services include advising on immigration processes, tax compliance, and real estate transactions, catering to both local and foreign clients.
The company also offers specific immigration services such as the D2 visa for entrepreneurs and the D7 visa for retirees, along with the Golden Visa program aimed at non-EU citizens seeking residency through investment. Almeida & Associados is committed to supporting its clients with knowledgeable legal guidance tailored to their unique needs, making it a reliable partner for navigating Portugal's legal landscape.