# Awaiting Final Approval (Stage 4)

**URL:** <https://community.nomadgate.com/t/awaiting-final-approval-stage-4/45969>\
**Category:** Portugal Golden Visa\
**Tags:** portugal, golden-visa, pt-gv-stages\
**Created:** [January 30, 2022, 6:20pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/awaiting-final-approval-stage-4/45969 "2022-01-30T18:20:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 341

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**Author:** ![Onward](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/o/e47774/32.png) [@Onward](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/Onward)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2023, 8:59am UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/awaiting-final-approval-stage-4/45969/341 "2023-03-21T08:59:18Z")

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If you are going the citizenship route, you or your lawyer will need to obtain from SEF “_Certidão de contagem de tempo_” as proof that you achieved 5 years’ residency. This document covers the periods in which your card was invalid. Thus the time spent waiting for a renewed card can be counted towards citizenship when you get the appropriate letter from SEF - which takes about 1-1.5 months to be issued - (see a recent post: [SEF documentation for residency extensions counting towards 5-year citizenship timeline - #8 by 2bcb21c800144f23f132](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/sef-document-proving-5-years-residency-for-citizenship/54472/8)).

So there is no need to go to Court - and you may be pleased about this because as the Portugal president (a law professor) has said, the legal system moves at a snail’s pace (or slower than SEF). 🙂

There is an advantage - in the sense that your Contagem de tempo (or the 5 years) may occur early in the period of your last card, thus allowing you some time to apply for citizenship within the duration of your last card.

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_[View the full topic](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/awaiting-final-approval-stage-4/45969)._