My preapproval in June 2021 but I’m still waiting for biometrics
The latest pre approval we have seen here is a Dec 27th application IIRC. I probably would not expect to be in the next round of biometrics appointments.
They’re not filling their time back to back with appointments. When I had mine in Coimbra we were the only ones there, and we arrived early then hung around a bit after. They could easily have fitted in multiple appointments to the slot allowed for my son and I.
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@lorage1012 [quote=“lorage1012, post:1702, topic:37666, full:true”]
My preapproval in June 2021 but I’m still waiting for biometrics
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Gotta be careful here so as not to fall into this ‘trap’ (quote from SEF ARI Manual):
The executory acts of the decision to grant the ARI are, essentially, as follows:
Notification to the Interested Party/Foreign Citizen10:
Communication of the deferral decision issued by the DN;
Scheduling within 10 to 60 days, to collect the biometric data
(if it was not done at the beginning of the procedure, at the request of the
interested party);
Payment of the issuance fee;
Warning of the consequences of non-compliance with the notification.
If you do not comply with the notification, the process is extinguished under the terms of articles 95 (Supervening Inutility) or 132 (Supervening Inutility).
supervenient) or 132 of the CPA (desertion);
I would recommend double-checking that neither yourself nor your legal rep missed the SEF’s notification.
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Hi, everyone. Can anyone direct me to a similar forum for residence permits for work in Portugal? Or do you know if the appointment process (first appointment, in person, with SEF) is more or less the same? I am here now in PT on a dual-entry work visa awaiting my appointment, and I’m wondering
(1) whether that appointment can be suddenly changed by SEF (I’m planning a trip across the Atlantic from the US just for the appointment)
(2) whether I can travel after the appointment, even while I am waiting for my residence card, assuming that I had all the documents at the appointment and assuming they do end up granting the permit
Thanks for any advice!
I am not an expert on this, but here’s my remote understanding of how this would work:
- Unlike the GV/ARI process, for the work visa you first need to actually get a visa itself outside of Portugal (I suspect it is called D4 visa). Sounds like you already have one.
- Then once you are inside PT, you’d need to apply for a residence permit - so yes, a SEF appointment.
- After the appointment you will be waiting for your permit issuance and you can still travel provided you comply with your (D4?) visa terms. I read the wait is allegedly 30 days, but I have no idea whether it is true or not in reality.
Thanks! Yes, I’ve done 1 and am waiting on the appointment for 2.
If you are right about 3 (that I can travel after the appointment), that would be wonderful! I wonder where I can find out more about that . . .
Hello and good day!
It might be passed by many of the applicants, but here I want to share my case with you, so there might be some people whom I was in the same boat with. So, here are my milestones:
- Final deed and purchasing the property for GV: Dec 6, 2019
- Submission of documents on SEF: Dec 18, 2019
- Payment of SEF slips: Jan 20, 2020 for myself and 23rd of Jan 2020 for the family
- Pre-Approval: Mar 12, 2020
- Biometric appointment: Jul 29, 2020 (Canceled by SEF on Jun 29, 2020 due to the pandemic)
- Invitation email by SEF for making an appointment: Dec 28, 2021 (according to the invitation I have to make an appointment between Dec 28, 2021 and Jan 2, 2022. This opportunity was missed because according to my lawyers, the SEF agenda remained closed during those days.)
- Revocation of my first lawyer and appointing new lawyer: Aug 12, 2022
- Open a case against SEF in the court: Dec 7, 2022(exactly 1000 days waiting for biometric appointment!)
- Having the court result: 29 Mar, 2023
- Biometric appointment: 15 May, 2023
And from now on, we are waiting for our cards!! This will take a minimum of 9 months according to my lawyer. We were waiting 1159 days to have the biometric appointments, so I guess we can wait the next 9 months for cards and at the same time hope it will come in a shorter period!!
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Thanks for this. Are you able to share more details about your court process please? I assume you won, what were the winning factors? What was the ruling?
Thanks very much, and congrats
Congrats, I am glad to note that you finally made it. So happy for you 
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The issue is my dependent had the biometric appointment last year while the main applicant still waiting for biometric … which I have no clue how I can chase …my lawyer said they already emails SEF and chasing them … but no update still
That’s correct. I won the lawsuit. My lawyer submitted 2 cases in the court: injunction and administrative process. What were differences from legal point of view? Actually I am not the right person to explain. I just rely on my lawyers. But the court has ruled in my favor in both actions.
As per the Judge’s decision, there was absolutely no reason for SEF not having me notified for the rescheduling of biometrics’ date, and the judicial decision was to condemn SEF to book my appointment with immediate effects.
As you could see, once I set an appointment for July 2020 and SEF cancelled that, where I was told by them that they would set a new one and they did not.
and another time I received an invitation on Dec 2021 which that invitation was missed by my previous lawyer, who claimed the SEF agenda were closed during the time he supposed to book the appointment. So, perhaps a complicated case compare to other cases!!
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Thanks for that info!
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Congrats on winning your case! I’m in a similar situation - although I managed to get a biometrics appointment in 2021 my two dependents did not and we have been unable to get SEF appointments for them because the system does not allow it, and of course SEF never answers emails. My lawyer seems to have given up. Are you able to share the details of the lawyer who helped you?
There are two factors that have made us hesitant about proceeding with a lawsuit against SEF. Firstly, someone mentioned on the forum that there might be available slots at the end of May, with priority given to older applicants.
Secondly, there is the concern of what would happen if we were to win the lawsuit, but SEF no longer exists.
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End of May is only a few weeks away, you could wait and see.
If SEF no longer exists I guess worst case is the lawsuit was a waste of time and you either have to wait and go through the process again with the new organisation, or best case they are more efficient and deal promptly with all the old cases?
Main downside seems to be wasting money, but given what you’ve spent on this process so far anyway…
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Looks like booking has opened for the next batch of appointments! My lawyers booked me in for 12 June in Faro. My preapproval was on 16 March.
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My husband and I were pre-approved on March 24th, and the schedule was just opened up for me today, so my lawyer booked the latest available appointment in Lisbon which was on June 9th, the later dates were already booked. I asked my lawyer if my husband could also book an appointment, but he hasn’t responded, he probably already left the office. I’m not sure how I can find out about the status for my husband, he hasn’t received anything for SEF directly. Any suggestions? Thanks everybody.
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I heard elsewhere that they have only invited primary applicants in this round. Don’t know if this is correct, or why.
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Thank you for your feedback.