Congratulations and thanks for the update! Watching the dates progress is helpful for those following along.
I keep watching this thread to see if there has been progression. Unfortunately this has been one of the few ways to “track” what’s going on.
It should be easy for SEF to publish statistics on where they’re with pre-approvals based on application submission date but alas I’m sure it’s one of the last things on SEF’s mind. 
If the sef wanted to farm out some webdev I’d be happy to assist them 
in case anyone meets someone with some pull
Get in line! I’ve already volunteered my services half a year ago!
If I had spent half the time I spent here on this forum - I’m sure I could alleviate some of the “technical” problems that prevented SEF from processing applications. 
It’s crazy what one even moderately competent developer could do for the SEF
Great news! Since my submission was a week later, I can anticipate hearing about pre-approval in another few months or so… 
Great news Noreis, congratulations. You’ve raised mt hopes now. My application was made on 22nd and the fees paid on 23rd Nov. I guess 23rd is what counts. Hopefully I should get mine soon too!
same here, mine was submitted on 29 November 2021, so i guess pre approval will be sometime mid August 
I am sure you will get it any day now, all the best and do keep us posted.
Just received pre-approval, timelines:
Application submitted (fees paid) : Nov 22nd 2021
Pre-approval: Jul 08 2022
Took ~7.5 months 
FWIW, my lawyer shared the approval email with me, I did not receive anything from SEF on my personal email (although I do have an account @ arei.sef.pt and can track my application).
Congratulations!
Hi all. Curious if anyone else has had any progress lately?
Haven’t seen any new approvals recently. I’m guessing there were a lot late Nov / early Dec. Hoping they’re sending out approvals in batches. 
Don’t know what they’re doing. I applied on 23 Nov, but haven’t received the approval. Heard of 2 people who applied on the same day have got it 2 weeks back. Maybe they’re going in alphabetical order 
I have been tracking the November applications based on application date and preapproval date for the members in this forum, below is the statistics:
November 2021 approvals have been going on since April 2022. I have not yet seen a single December approval yet.
I’m December 2nd I believe, possibly 3rd or 4th if they go by payment date
I’ll report in as soon as I’m approved, I check a few times daily
Can you send me this link?
I am 29 November 2021, and still waiting… 
Believe I’m on the same boat, my submission date is Dec 3rd as well.