Congrats! Very happy things are moving
Did you get an email?
1 Like
Yup! Got an email from IAS. I bet they’re pretty happy I won’t be contacting them every fortnight for an update:joy:
3 Likes
IAS? I’m not familiar.
I have an account with ARI so I’m hoping I get the email directly
2 Likes
Actually, looking at the screencap (from the ARI portal) my lawyer sent me, I was approved on the 28th (which is funny, because I emailed them THAT MORNING (from Spain, actually) asking for an update, and they said that there were no updates, we will notify you immediately when there is an update. LoL
So updated timeline:
Submitted November 15th, 2021
Pre approval June 28th, 2022.
3 Likes
Best bet is not to rely on SEF’s emails, but rather check the ARI portal every day. As per the reports in the biometrics thread, some folks received the email invites from SEF, some did not (i.e. only their lawyers received it).
IAS = iaservices.pt, I guess Kari is using them as a lawyer.
1 Like
Thank you, I had been seeing mixed results but was hoping it was just that some were set up for an ari account and some weren’t
1 Like
I wish I had access to the ARI portal myself. Not too keen on having a middleman😂
Hopefully the email to book biometrics isn’t skipped over! Is anyone still just randomly showing up to SEF hoping for a cancellation/as a walk in? Or that’s not a thing anymore?
2 Likes
Congratulations! I guess they are now pre approving applications submitted around mid November 2021.
3 Likes
Guys, wondering, if dependents added much later in the process, tend to get approved any quicker than the original applicant? For e.g.: I applied in Oct 2021, pre-approved in Feb 2022. Recently got maried and my wife applied on 1st June 2022, wonder if I can expect similar waiting times for her, or perhaps a faster time, as the investment documents are already verified by SEF?
Thanks
3 Likes
Yes. My daughter was born a few months after we got per-approved. Her application was lodged a year after the date of our pre-approval. (we are still waiting for her pre-approval though)
1 Like
Hello, How to access the ARI Portal??Do I need to ask my lawyer for log in access??
Not sure, but since she is only 18 months old at the moment, and we do not wish to reside in Portugal, I am ok with waiting some time.
Same situation. Six months, still waiting.
Hi, Zoya - here’s what happened with me: we applied for the GV through a law firm, who handled all of the submittals. The law firm was/is listed as the point of contact, and they have my application and a lot of other people’s applications tied to the same password, so that they can easily go back and forth with the SEF website to deal with SEF on my behalf. When things were not moving, I asked if there was a way I could gain access myself. The law firm said it was possible, but by doing so I would cut them out of the loop - so I chose to stick with the system as-is. Another person on this forum signed up with SEF before engaging a lawyer, and then provided his access credential to his lawyer when the paperwork was submitted to SEF. In that way, he is able to access SEF and his lawyer is, too.
Unless you did it the way he did, I think you’re stuck with either you or your lawyer having access, unless you can (a) work with your lawyer to remove you from the “group” and allow you to be the point of contact with SEF, and then (b) give your access credentials to your lawyer, so that either or both of you have access rights. This creates extra work for your lawyer, however, so they may not be willing to do it.
1 Like
Thought I’d share my timeline as we finally have our biometrics appointment scheduled.
Applied for family of 3.
Application date: May 24, 2021
Pre-Approval date: July 14, 2021
Biometrics appointment date: November 15, 2022
It’s been quite the wait thus far, but luckily we aren’t in any major rush.
4 Likes
congrats! Nice to see things starting to move.
1 Like
I am sick and tired of advisors giving this type of information to clients. They must think we are stupid or just ignorant and willing to accept what is being said.
1 Like
I got this email from my immigration consultants, sharing it with you all:
Quick update: SEF started to open slots for scheduling the collection of biometric data.
At this time, the SEF has notified and made available an agenda for households in which all members have pre-approval and who have applied in the first half of September.
This is good news as this was the SEF service that was blocked the most and for the most months, which means that everything is finally getting back to normal.
The analysis of pre-approvals is currently in the November applications. We have not yet received any approvals for the month of December, but we expect this to happen very soon. Even so, November and December were months with a huge volume of applications, so a long processing time is to be expected.
We will keep you abreast of this progress and the visibility that we are gaining from any new timeline.
6 Likes
Just got an email from my attorney notifying me that I got pre-approval today, July 7. My application was submitted on November 23, 2021
13 Likes
Congratulations, looks like they have finally moved from Mid November 2021
1 Like