It’s curious why you think it is condescending. I was trying to point out that it had been discussed before so that @aj.soegiarto can see many other people’s experiences that shared here so s/he can get a better idea of what to expect
Well, as stated, they aren’t necessary but you will have to produce them at some point, and other experiences up thread will illustrate the issues that can come up if you don’t have current/fresh ones (delays, unhappy agents, etc).
Just received notice of this development from our lawyer. Finally a sense of hope. Now the wait to see how it is implemented. Agree with @anon16151502 - would be helpful if folks share their experiences.
So if I’m reading this announcement right, if you made your application payment prior to April 2020 there’s some hope for you. If you applied second quarter 2020 or later, they likely will not open any new appointments or they may still continue the current broken system of trying to catch last-minute cancellations.
It leaves me still wondering how long it’ll take to clear the backlog to catch up to those applying now.
Based on my rough calculations, in 2019 there were 1,245 applications and 2,192 family reunifiations = 3,500 slots needed.
I assume that applications increased at least by 25% in 2020 and 2021 meaning 1,500 appt + 2700 reunifications = 4,200 slot per year. That is about 3,000 applicants needing appointments over 2020-2021.
SEF processed about 800 applicants in 2021 and 1100 in 2020 for a total of 1,900 meaning that they handled over half of the demand. This means that applicants applying today should be handled around December 2022. All things considered, that is not that bad considering how long some people have had to wait already. (Clearly there are people who applied in early 2020 still not with appointments).
Keep in mind that there will be a lull in new applications for the first half of 2022 as demand was accelerated due to changing rules so this should result in many less new applicants in 1H 2022.
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Ocorreu um erro. Good news indeed, especially for all those who have waited patiently, often without complaint, for an appointment. Only fair and just that scheduling ARI appointments will/can now be on a first-come first-served basis and no longer dependent on the legal firm fronting the application. On a political/administrative note, the departure of Cabrita, as Minister of the Interior, appears to have been liberating for SEF. Upon his resignation, SEF and GNR employees publicly applauded, and openly stated that his resignation was overdue; the real sin was that he had not resigned sooner. The current Minister of Justice (acting Minister of the Interior) is behind this new change. Yes, there will be a backlog, but less arbitrary. Thus making the next Minister of the Interior and the transition to the entity to which ARI will be assigned in mid-2022, something to watch.
Also keep in mind that different agents at different cities will be different. In Coimbra, I was asked to provide a proof of arrival (because I got an Schengen entry stamp in Germany and not in Portugal in my passport). My spouse wasn’t asked to provide this at SEF in Porto.
Post# 336 said they would have had 20 days to submit the refreshed documents. I would be sweating if it was me since the SoS still takes about 3 weeks to issue apostilles.
Hello all,
We just got emails to set up a biometrics appointment in January (having been approved in November 2019). The problem is that emails came for all members of the family except for the main applicant and the body of the email mentions that it is for “family reunification application”. Has anyone had the same experience of receiving appointments for family members before the main applicant? Not sure how we will handle this on the selected date and if the main applicant can just tag along regardless… Thank you.
I think that they will likely assign appointment slot in chunks. After they are done with applicants and their families prior to 1st quarter 2020, they probably will be assigning slots to applicants and families applied in the second quarter and so on. I’m guessing though, but it just seems like that’s how SEF operates.
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Wow. A true test of patience to have been waiting since November, 2019. Did you get an email with a specific date or have you been given a choice to choose the date and location ?
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wow, 2019. I can’t even imagine how frustrating. If I’d known up front it’d be years before I got my visa, I might not have even bothered applying. I wonder how many people would feel the same way.
I wonder how cancellations are going to get handled, or if it’s still going to be possible to squeeze in at last minute? Though if people have more time to prepare/schedule, there will probably be fewer cancellations, too.
Alternatively, I wonder how much inventory has gone wasted because of speculative booking by firms that will therefore be more efficiently used?
When did you get your SEF pre-approval?
- 2019 or earlier
- January to July 2020
- July to December 2020
- January to July 2021
- July to December 2021
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voters
This to guide how long people must wait for appointments now.
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We got to choose the location and time…
My understanding is that the majority of appointment slots are actually taken up by renewals not initial applications. To get to a more accurate estimate of the backlog, one would need to add the # of renewals in the queue for all active GVs from the beginning of the program.
I was not looking at renewals data, only new applications so it shouldn’t materially affect my analysis. You are right that renewals might take up many of the slots, but that wouldn’t impact the data I reviewed.
Thanks. This is a slight ray of hope for us all. I myself have been waiting patiently since November, 2020.
We got our approval in March 2020 (submitted application in Dec 2019). Still waiting for biometrics for the rest of my family members.
Latest news:
SEF implements that the Golden Visa personal interviews will be scheduled in chronological order.
The Portuguese imigration entity (SEF), based on the principles of equality, opportunity and availability, implements, as of today, the scheduling methodology for granting a Residence Permit for Investment Activity (ARI or Golden Visa) in chronological order, through notification to citizens and/or their representatives.
Similar to what was done for expressions of interest on the SAPA Portal, SEF began contacting citizens with appointments for the ARI grant by chronological order of date of payment of the analysis fee and respective status of accepted application, until the first quarter of 2020, thus allowing for the availability of an agenda for all investors in a more transparent, balanced and fair manner.
Lisbon, 17 December 2021
Apparently anyone who had their application approved in the second and third quarter of 2020 are being invited to make biometric appointments.