Great news! Seems like November 2021 applications are really getting pre-approved in May 2022.
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I really appreciate your response. I’d love to be in touch with others who have applied for Golden Visa. Thanks! By the way - how do you know that “the biometrics seem to be moving again?” - I’d be interested to know more about that.
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Main applicant application: November 4, 2021.
Spouse and parent applications November 7, 2021.
Main applicant, spouse and parent pre-approvals May 13, 2022.
Biometrics- told to wait for SEF invitation to make appointments. (I don’t expect that to happen for several months.)
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Almost exactly 6 months. I applied on Nov 23 so hopefully I will get pre-approval by end of May
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From what I have heard I think the number of applications shot up dramatically the last two months in 2021. So if they maintain the same rate it may take a little longer for those in December and maybe even late November for them to get through the backlog.
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We have the same submit date. I hope we both get ours in the next couple weeks! Fingers crossed.
we have the same delivery date of 22 November 2021 and we are waiting for it
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Is there an official law that states that the 5-year period starts from the day of pre-approval?
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I haven’t yet got any notification that the 5 years clock starts from the day of Pre-approval. Legally and still officially, as per me the clock starts from the date of issuance of the GV card. But while saying so, I hope they send a notification soon that it will start from the date of Pre-approval given that now pre-approval itself is taking 6 months or more time which was the time frame to receive the card earlier. But Portugal is not in a hurry to give you PR or citizenship.
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I was wondering how the new chronological biometrics booking system works. Are you given a date range within which to make an appointment? Or are you given a guaranteed to be available choice of slots, i.e. dates and times? Or is it a list of slots that could then just be taken by someone else if you are not quick enough to grab a few for yourself? Ideally there would be a selection of dates or slots that would be guaranteed to be available for a period of time whilst you sorted out flights and accommodation and checked that all family members would actually be available to travel.
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According to my lawyer there isn’t such a law.
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This would best be answered by someone who was able to book their biometrics under the ‘current’ system back in Nov-Dec 2021.
My application was done in Nov but my lawyer said that my depedants application has to be done after my pre-approval. After getting information in this forym, I forced my lawyer to apply for my dependants immediately. He says that their system does not allow to apply now, has anyone tried applying for their dependants this year?
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Yes, that was a big mistake from your lawyer. It’s better to apply at the same time and the law does allow that. Having said that, it’s better late than never and your dependents applications will not be affected for the change in rules from Jan 2022. But issue is, now SEF has stopped taking new applications for the moment as they have huge backlog of applications of 6 months old. They will clear those back log first before taking new applications. Also, I feel the waiting period will be much lesser for the new applicants as they will be directly on the table of the officers to act.
So, don’t worry and be in touch with your lawyer.
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That is an understatement.
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adding my data point…sent in application 11/15.21. just got pre-approval notification this morning for myself, spouse and child
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Halfway to December! Great news, I applied early December so hopefully I’m in the next month or so
Godspeed sef
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Thanks for sharing that! I’m ~2 wks behind you in submitting, so fingers crossed we are 2 wks behind you in pre-approval!
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Thanks for sharing, I applied on 30 November 2021 so hopefully expecting an approval by end of this month or first week of June. Fingers crossed!
Hi all, we’ve started a form to collect this information in a structured manner. Would really appreciate if folks could enter their key dates here:
You can view results here: Portugal Golden Visa Application Timeline Database - Google Spreadsheets
Thanks!
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