is anyone still waiting for invitation and trying for appointment since 2020?
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No theyāre inviting people from late 2021 for biometrics currently. If yours was submitted in 2020 then itās been lost or overlooked somehow.
my initial biometrics was done in 2018, this is my renewal in 2020
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Is anyone going to be in Lisboa for their biometrics anytime between the morning of June 7th and the morning of June 14th? My biometrics appointment is on the 9th, and my husbandās schedule hasnāt been opened yet, so Iām going alone. I know it may be a bit of a long shot, but it would be great to meet others in Lisboa, to explore the city, and share this experience together. My husband and I are planning on moving to Lisboa as soon as we have our residency cards in hand, so Iāll be checking out neighborhoods and amenities to prepare for our arrival, and to help prepare for my husbandās trip to Lisboa on his own. My husband is not happy about going alone, but the tickets are crazy expensive from Hawaii, and the flight takes forever. I am happy to give contact details if thereās someone out there. Good luck everybody.
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Got my approval today. My timeline is below:
Applied: Oct 15, 2021
Pre-approval: Feb 15, 2022 (4 months)
Biometrics: Feb 8, 2023 (Porto)
Approval: Jun 2, 2023
Lawyer says the residency card should come in 4-6 weeks.
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@mukunds Congrats!
How did you receive your approval? By email from SEF directly to you, or indirectly via lawyer only?
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Indirectly via lawyer only (who forwarded the approval notice and the fee payment notices to me), as with all prior notices and approvals. I did login to the ARI portal to check - for status of application, it says āTransferredā. Not quite sure what that means.
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Indirectly through lawyer, they sent the fee notice as well.
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Iām on my way to Lisboa for my biometric appointment on June 9th, and Iāve been trying to post on the American & Friends PT Facebook group. The moderators of the group wonāt let me post anything and wonāt explain why. Does anyone have any suggestions? Iām following the rules they suggested. I thought the group would be a good resource, but WTF is going on. I just wanted to meet people in Lisboa who are going through this process. My husband schedule hasnāt opened up yet, so Iām going alone.
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They probably want you to post something in Lisbon specific group. Iāve had similar issues with AFIP group before. Try directly messaging one of the admins, they usually respond.
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My understanding of that group is also that they do not like to focus on GV. Not sure whyā¦
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AFPT decided a while ago to stop allowing meet-up posts since there were an awful lot of them, and some people were getting tired of seeing them. The idea was indeed that more local groups were a better choice since you wouldnāt be bothering someone in Tavira with a meeting in Porto.
Thank you for your feedback. Iām going to suggest to the moderators of AFPT that they should put that in their rules, rather than just not posting and not saying anything.
I am in the situation that got pre-approved in 2/2021 and offered biometrics 12/21, but we could not come due to medical reasons and hesitant due to Covid. Since then, weāre forever ālost in the systemā. My attorney recommended initiating a lawsuit, which I just authorized. The legal cost is 4,000 Euros and court costs 400 Euros. My attorney said that an expedited lawsuit will be heard in 3-4 months, and if successful, Iād be offered a biometric appointment within about a month. Sad that this became necessary. Iām interested in othersā experiences and/or advice. Thanks!
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Thanks for sharing this information, it is helpful to know lawsuit specifics!
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Hi, December ā21 applicant here. We received the invite in March ā23 but chose not to schedule as we couldnāt make the April or May dates. Is there anyone else who did not schedule when first invited and could share experience on whether we will be considered in future rounds? Panicking as we didnāt get invited to the June round.
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If you simply choose not to take up the SEFās invite, your application may be cancelled by SEF.
I quoted recently the corresponding extract from the SEFās internal manual citing the applicable legal clauses etc.
So Iād recommend you petition with SEF asap explaning the reasons for not taking up their original invite and asking them to re-invite you.
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Biometrics report -
Was invited (primary applicant) to Coimbra for 7 June. Preceded by a frantic scramble to get updated criminal checks & such. Got the prints sent off for apostille on 28 May, with the expectation that it would be 6-8 weeks of waiting.
Flew over early and met with Lawyer in Lisbon on Monday 5 June. Brought SS card, and boarding pass (flew into Lisbon to make it clear we entered the EU through PT). Brought copies of everything for spouse as well, in the (long-shot) chance of her getting asked in as well.
Made our way to Coimbra on Monday 5 June and did some reconnoitering to make sure we knew where the SEF office was, how long it would take to get there, etc, so there would be no foobars the morning of 7 June.
Appointment was for 10h00, and we had agreed to meet with lawyer at 09h30 at the SEF office. We got there a few minutes early and while fumbling with my phone to text the lawyer, the SEF guard came out, took our passports and asked us in. We were brought to a small lecture hall area, and our passports returned to us.
Lawyer arrived and I had to sign some papers, POA & such. I had to confirm with them, am I signing it as I sign my passport (middle initial) or full name. Some were one way, some the other. Lawyer left to go up stairs, and we waited/stewed. Lawyer did indicate that despite best efforts, she was unable to get my wife on the docket. TBH, it was a long shot, would have been great to have it happen, but were not surprised when it did not materialize.
After about 15 min, I was called upstairs, did the fingerprints and photo. Everything went well, until I read the stamped paperwork that read (as best I could understand) āprovisionally accepted, pending the translated background check, and physical copy in our hands in 20 daysā. Lawyer conversed with the woman behind the counter that it will be 6-8 weeks, and there would be extensions filed. Woman (politely) said, no, 20 days. I could tell this rattled the lawyer.
So that was that, left it all under a fairly dark cloud - it aināt over until itās over; and in PT, itās never over.
But, to my surprise and amazement, later that day, the digital copies of the apostilled checks came through the evening of the 7th. I forwarded them along to the lawyer to get the translation process underway. Upon returning to the US (yesterday), we have the physical copies, and will be sending these via DHL to the lawyer later today as well. So we are hopeful that the 20day window will be met with a week to spare.
So, now the wait for the card - for meā¦ but absolutely no idea about when wife will be called in.
So the wait goes onā¦
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Even people who pick a date and miss it rarely get re-invited, and you apparently ignored the invite entirely. Better get your lawyer sending bribes!
Sorry you find yourself in this situation.
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