Hopefully your luck will turn soon!
We just had our biometrics today in Lisbon. The process was quick - 30 mins or so, but now the long wait begins. Perhaps it would not be one year… 
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Brave of you to go to Lisbon - what made you go with them instead of asking your lawyers to make appointments elsewhere?
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Actually, we have moved to Lisbon already over four month ago, and we did have a lawyer today. She was very organised and all documents prepared. That’s why it only took 30 minutes overall.
One thing she said is that she always insists on having all the documents with her for any SEF question that might arise. According to her, if any documents are missing, SEF will give you “make-up” time, but then your file goes in a stack of files to be re-processed at a later date. When that date arises is anyone’s guess. That is why many files often take much longer to process.
Again, these are her words, and so take it for what it is worth to you. I will update the forum once I receive my cards, hopefully in not-so-distant future. 
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We had our biometrics done in Lisbon today. We showed up about 15 minutes prior to our appointment time and were allowed through by the front guard (we showed an e-mail from SEF with appointment time) and were advised to obtain a queue number, which we did. Our lawyer arrived 10 minutes after us, with all documents in order. Here is what we had (U.S. docs) :
- Application forms, pre-filled by our lawyer - we just had to sign them, also committing to keep our investment in Portugal for at least five years at 500K € level. I also signed a form of financial responsibility for my wife.
- Passports
- Copies of all pages of the passports
- FBI Reports. SEF considered the date of apostille to be the date of 90-day validity, and so we were fine. Our lawyer provided Portuguese translation.
- Marriage certificate, apostilled by CA Secretary of State. Our lawyer had a translation ready. The certificate was over a year old, but it was accepted nonetheless.
- Copy of our apartment deed.
- Bank certification of investment in excess of 500K €.
- Certification from Finanças of no outstanding taxes owed - our lawyer obtained it.
- Certification from Sigurança Social that we were not registered (hence nothing owned) - our lawyer obtained it.
- Copy of U.S. SSN for the primary applicant - our lawyer certified it.
When our number was called, she went in and presented our information. About 15 minutes later, she waived us in. Everything was already resolved. We just “posed” for the camera, submitted two fingerprints, and signed electronic pad. That was it.
We received a confirmation of acceptance of our candidacy, with no pending items. Our lawyer thinks it might be about couple of months before we receive our cards… Only time would tell.
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I am waiting since March 2020. No news despite countless calls, reminder emails, physical letters and what not.
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You moved to Lisbon over four months ago; that means you have exceeded you 90days stay. Does this mean it’s okay to stay while still in the process of obtaining residency?
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This has been discussed extensively in another thread:
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Do you refer to a printout called “Recibo comprovativo de pedido”?
And did you pay the card issuance fee at the end of your appointment?
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Thank you for this detailed information, my appointment is on 31 Jan 2023 in Lisbon, I will go through this check list with my lawyers to be double sure
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Congratulations!
Couple of questions:
- did you take fresh and apostilled FBI background check reports with you?
- was your family able to go for bio metrics appointment with you at the same time? Did you (or your lawyer) receive separate invitations from SEF to make appointments for your family members ?
Appreciate if you can share! Thx!
Congrats! Does the SEF website reflect this update?
Anyone try rescheduling their pre-booked appointment to a later date? Our lawyer is having a hell of a time finding any open slots for a later date.
The FBI background check apostille process is currently taking 10-11 weeks and my biometrics appointment is much earlier than that. Not sure how my appointment is going to go if I show up with none of the required documents.
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I’m curious about this as well @PCERoman
My lawyer recently received notification to book my appointment but so far no update on my spouse’s appointment availability who applied only a few days after me. All efforts to ask SEF for help booking us together have been in vain.
We did get a request from our lawyer to bring new apostilled documents to the biometrics interview.
I did previously try to reschedule my appointment and was not successful - in my case, my appointment was rescheduled to a date without my consent but i) there was limited time to try to re-reschedule it ii) I adjusted my travel plans so that I could attend the new appointment.
You may want to attend the session and provide biometrics and complete (submit) the missing documents later on. Though this is not ideal, given the scarcity of appointment this is surely an option. Otherwise you may need to wait for an undefined period of time.
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Yes, it does. According to my lawyer, it should be fine to overstay whilst waiting for the processing of your application with pre-approval. With biometrics, supposedly your data becomes visible to SEF at the border control that you are “approved for residency”.
I will be flying out in late February, directly from Portugal to non-Schengen country (through the U.K. to the U.S.). I will update the forum if there will be any difficulties.
Also, there is a separate agreement dating to July 7th, 1983 between Portugal and U.S. that provides automatic 60-day reciprocal tourist visa. Supposedly, it is still valid, though I have had difficult time obtaining its text from the U.S. State Dept. Records Office. I am planning to use that as a “trump card” if all else fails.
Be ready to bail me out… 
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No, it was the actual “Compra e Venda”. Mine was a bit more complicated since there was another agreement where I purchased “a right to buy” the apartment, i.e. my place in queue. Ultimately, the bank statement was necessary to show the net transfer of funds.
I was not asked to pay the cards fees yet.
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Best of luck to you! Hopefully your lawyers will have everything in order.
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That is crazy 
and I hope you get a response soon. 
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Hello Amit,
I had FBI checks that were dated Sep 21, 2022, but apostilled on Nov 30, 2022. SEF accepted these as still valid. I also had a fresh copy of FBI checks from Jan 13, 2023, but there was no way to apostille them prior to the appointment. These were not requested.
Our family is only my wife and I, and yes, we both were invited to the appointment at the same time - our lawyer booked them on the same day once the appointment slots were open. We were lucky in that sense.
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I hope so: I have submitted my data once my appointments were booked.
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