My lawyer tried but failed they donât allow me to do the biometrics as they claimed the system simply donât allow to do that âŠ. Now I donât know how long I need to wait âŠ. So frustrated
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I just wanted to provide an update as to where we are in the process. We applied last Sept 2021, were pre approved in Jan 2022, and just had our biometrics on 22/9/2022 is Lisbon. Our attorneys said it was taking about 6 months post biometrics to get the card, but that has gotten a bit longer. According to them, they are working on the cards from biometrics in Feb 2022 (again, this is only for Lisbon). So about 7 months currently.
I had a question as to dress code for the biometrics appointment as I have been to other places in the world that are quite strict in that regard. Here, there were none. My attorney told me not to where flip flops, but that was it. We wore shorts and a t shirt.
Even though we had appointments, it ended up taking several hours. Having an appointment just means that you can get a number, but you still have to wait for the number to be called. Once the number was called, our attorneys went in for about 15 minutes, then it took 5 minutes once we were called in to take our photo, get our fingerprints, and sign an electronic signature.
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Good luck with your progress. There are people from all walks of life coming to SEF offices, so donât worry about your wardrobe for the appointment. Keep in mind that whatever youâre wearing around your collar area (shirt, sweater, etc.) will be in the photo on your card when itâs issued.
I received the following update from my lawyers:
We have been insisting with the Immigration Office on a weekly basis and they have informed us (although not officially) that they will open new openings for biometrics at the end of the month, possibly in October.
Keeping fingers crossed! Good luck to all of us.
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Fingers and toes crossed I get my pre approval by then (Dec 7) - itâll be real close from what I can see!
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These are appointments for UK nationals, who applied under the UK Withdrawal Agreement from the EU, to reside in Portugal. The appointments are not for ARI applicants. After Brexit, Portugal asked UK nationals intending to reside in Portugal to declare their intent to SEF â so that they could obtain residence cards after biometrics. From 2020 to end 2021, about 42,000 UK nationals applied for residency under the Withdrawal Agreement but 35,000 have not yet had SEF appointments or biometrics (Almost 35,000 Britons in limbo as Portugal fails to issue post-Brexit ID cards | Brexit | The Guardian - posted in Aug by @cj807), making it difficult for them to use services -including health care - without resident cards.
UK nationals in the Açores were contacted in Feb 22 and (more recently) residents of Cascais, LoulĂ© and Lisbon area have been invited to make appointments through the SEF website (for biometrics at SEF branches or their town hall service desk). This is a targeted response to the lengthy delay in Brits obtaining residence cards (Brits in Portugal set to have new post-Brexit residence card by yearâs end â EURACTIV.com ). The option of location for biometrics, and the comment of the Minister of Internal Affairs regarding potential subsequent use of the approach, if it works, is interesting.
Hi there.
" The option of location for biometrics, " - sorry if obvious, but could you expand on this point please?
Thanks very much.
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The SEF website for Brexit enables scheduling for the available SEF branch or town hall service desk. Hence, there is an option for doing biometrics at a SEF branch or town hall, a choice not available normally for biometrics. No further information is available.
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Understood, thank you. That would indeed be very interesting if more locations were available.
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My husband and I (through our Lisbon lawyer) submitted the complete GV application at end of December 2021. We are now waiting for pre-approval and invitation to make biometric appointment. I have two questions if anyone can answer, would be super grateful! (1) The 7-day residency requirement (i.e. stay in Portugal for 7 days), for the first year. We cannot do that BEFORE we receive the preapproval or biometric, correct? But if the preapproval/biometric takes over a year, which seems likely, then donât we fail that first residency requirement if we have not spent our 7 days in the first 12 months after our application was submitted?
(2) If anyone who has a lawyer there who they feel is doing a good job and communicating with them about the GV process, and wouldnât mind sharing their info? We canât seem to get any answers out of ours.
thanks!
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Yes, the residency requirement starts after youâve gotten your residence permit, which wonât be until (unknown X months) after your biometric appointment. My husband waited about 6 months after his Porto biometric for his residence permit. My biometric was in Lisbon at the end of April and Iâm still waiting. The time Iâve spent in Portugal has been strictly for my own enjoyment, it does not count toward any residency requirement.
Youâre not subject to the 7 day/year residency requirement until you receive your residency. My understanding is that theyâre now issuing cards valid for 2 years so youâll have to in Portugal for 14 days in that 2 year period.
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I have seen some rumours that some of that will be backdated, due to all the delays. Apparently someoneâs lawyer got strong hints about that from someone high up. But thatâs probably something like a 1% chance.
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As others noted, no time on-the-ground will be required before the start date on your GV card.
However there is an interesting twist to it that is worth mentioning.
Which is the time you stay in Portugal between your pre-approval and the official start of your GV may count towards your overall legal residence period of 5 years required for the PT citizenship.
So, say you were preapproved on 1 Jan 2022 and then spend 2 years waiting for your GV card, which you receive on 31 Dec 2023. If you actually resided in PT the full 2 years of 2022-23 (which you had a legal right to do), then you would only need to wait 3 more years before applying for citizenship.
That is my understanding of the â5 years within the last 15 yearsâ rule.
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We got our cards recently but they are certainly not backdated. I wish they were!
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My attorney insists that the residency time only includes the dates when residency cards are valid. So if we have a 9-month wait after our renewal before the new card is issued, that time doesnât count. She has been saying this from the beginning, but I keep hearing otherwise from non-attorneys.
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There is a special case that needs to be checked; during covid, existing residency cards were extended and what I heard from my lawyers is that those extensions for âexisting cardsâ - are expected to be counted for the 5 year periodâŠ
For me this sounds possible given the fact that the official extensions with decrees apply to validity period of the residency card and this way a 24 month card can be counted for longer. (by the additional extension) I think by early 2023 we will know if this holds true or not.
If the extensions for the existing residency cards are to be counted for 5 years residency - provided that you fulfill the stay requrements of each card - this might compensate for some of the time lost in between renewals.
There is a big caveat! For this to happen I believe you will still need to have the final card in hand and will need to spend at least 2 weeks in Portugal during the validity period of the card; yet you will not need to wait for the 2 years validity period to finish before applying for citizenship as the extensions will give you some head start for the 5 year timeline.
There might be some people who will say 5 year clocks ticking with the issue of the first card, but I assume you will need the final valid 2 year card for your last 2 weeks of stay to be counted.
Legal opinion and actual reference cases will shed more light into this.
This is my understanding as well from our attorney. For those just starting the process, and are waiting for their FIRST temporary residency card after their biometric, final approval and payment of fee, the 5 year requirement period begins upon issuance of the FIRST card.
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My lawyer just checked and he said the status is still the same, its not yet open for biometric appointment. Let me know if anyone of you have heard otherwise.
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