folks - isnāt everyone concerned that the proposal that will go to parliament and the president will invalidate our applications? the proposal recommends that applications in progress be converted into a entrepreneur visa application which has strict residency guidelines. see linked/attached documents which i am sure everyone has seen already.
i am not excited anymore about pending pre-approval given this black cloud on the horizon.
GV_Amendments_1680223274.pdf (799.4 KB)
Just an update @potentcatalyst . In response to my question about whether or not my appointment with SEF will go ahead next Thursday, my lawyer says she wishes she had an answer! She doesnāt know if they will keep the appointment, but she says āif I were you, I would be thereā.
You would think that SEF would be emailing the lawyers of individuals with appointments scheduled in this strike window to advise what the position is, wouldnāt you? - but no!
This whole situation is utterly ridiculous, but I WILL be travelling next week for this āpossibleā Biometric appointment with SEF, just in case it is happening 
Have you decided what to do?
Yes, that is one major worry. But at least (I think) we would have more reason for a lawsuit, in the case where we donāt even get a GV from the initial application.
Yes, that is one major worry. But at least (I think) we would have more reason for a lawsuit, in the case where we donāt even get a GV from the initial application.
do we think such a lawsuit would be successful?
fwiw, i have read that such a modification would not pass constitutional muster, but it doesnāt seem like the portuguese constitution provides as many protections as does the US constitution given such a proposal to move the goal post is even being considered.
very frustrated by the portuguese way of doing business here - i love the country and would love to get my residence permit + citizenship but the government has made an absolute mess of things here given the amount of money many of us have spent (280k++ for most of us, i think - right?).
One thing that puzzles me is that, donāt the people making the draft know about the constitution? If they knew about retroactive ruling cannot be constitutional, why are they proposing so? So Iām afraid that since they proposed so, they must have reasons to believe that it can pass constitutional law.
One thing that puzzles me is that, donāt the people making the draft know about the constitution? If they knew about retroactive ruling cannot be constitutional, why are they proposing so? So Iām afraid that since they proposed so, they must have reasons to believe that it can pass constitutional law.
well, this is politics. i donāt know much about portuguese politics (sounds like it is time for all of us to learn), but these proposals are as more about appeasing the voting base than anything else. they donāt have to be grounded in reality - even if the measures donāt pass, the party gets brownie points for trying and has a better chance of staying in power.
fwiw, the president may be a beacon of hope - read these articles:
I have asked my lawyer to ask SEF are they open on that day or what is the alternative arrangement and yet to see a reply. I also saw government will have another meeting with unions on April 3, so I will wait and see.
However given the uncertainty of renewal under GV terms I tend to cut loss and stop further spending money and time.
Thank you for sharing the articles.
If the proposals really are mostly for gaining votes, it will be a good news.
If the proposals really are mostly for gaining votes, it will be a good news.
sorry, to clarify - the proposal to get rid of the golden visa is because of pressure from the EU.
the proposal to change the rules for in-progress GV applications seems to be more of a political measure.
i do think the golden visa will be eliminated. what i donāt want to happen as part of this effort is for the rules to be changed for folks who have already applied for the GV and for those folks who have GVs already. that seems unfair and, frankly, just plain unlawful.
27th Dec 2021, still waiting for pre-approval. Congrats to Emily!
I saw this excerpts, not clear what that means
āCosta also noted that residence permits granted under the scheme will be converted into normal residence permits, similar to those of foreign citizens so that everyone is equal according to the national law.ā
I wonder what is ānormal residence permitā
Is 7 days a year stay requirement not valid anymore?
Do we have to stay 183 days to retain residency.
My assumption is that the visa loses all of its value, so probably losing the 7 day stay requirement. But dont take my word for it, I dont want to get told off again if I theorize incorrectly.
However, golden visas for entrepreneurship will remain available for those interested, which enables foreign entrepreneurs who want to develop a project in this field in Portugal, to do so. These new visa applications are assessed by taking into account the economic, social, scientific, technological or cultural relevance of the investment.
It doesnāt help that articles about this are so contradictory. GV is ending! GV still in place for everything except real estate!
Hard to get a read on the situation.
I just got off with my attorney, he said the text of the law amendment is yet to come out.
He says certain changes could violate the constitution and we could end up in court.
There are also funds route, donation route and few others what happens to those.
I think eliminating the ā7 dayā requirement would satisfy the EU. Itās then the same as many other countries RBI
That is IMO the only value of the golden visa, otherwise no need to spend so much money if you can spend 6+ months a year in Portugal!
Good luck to all of youā¦itās definitely stress inducing.
Just to share an update with the forum: my appointment is in PortimĆ£o for Thursday, April 13th; submission December 16, 2021 (with fees paid), preapproval February 28, 2023, letter of invitation for biometrics March 28, 2023.
Husband submission and fees paid - January 20, 2022, application still under analysis.
Hope this helps all awaiting an updateā¦hang in there. The approvals will come and definitely worth the wait!!! 
***Spanish digital nomad visa while awaiting pre-approval? Iām not sure if this is even possible but it feels like maybe it isā¦ā¦? Bare with me.
We applied for GV the last week of Dec. 2021 and, like many of you, we havenāt received our pre-approval yet. We returned to Portugal in 2022 and kept our stay under 90 days and will be doing the same this summer/fall.
We bought a plot of land the same time we applied for the GV and our house is already almost done. 
Our entire reason for GV was to spend time traveling all over Europe with our kids while theyāre young. When we applied my daughter was 5 and my son 7, they will be 9 and 7 on our next trip. The time is quickly passing. We had planned on spending 18-24 months traveling in the Schengen zone but we canāt stay 6-8 months for 5 years which is why we didnāt do the D7.
We are unable to do this now since we canāt stay longer than 90 days and it feels like it could be years before we have those residence cards in hand. Soā¦. I was wondering if anyone has considered applying for the Spanish digital nomad visa while waiting for approval and biometrics? We easily qualify for the Spanish visa and there is no time requirement for how long you have to be in Spain during year one unless you want to renew after 12 months.
Soā¦. Iām wondering if it makes sense (or if itās even possible) for our family to get the Spanish digital nomad visa to be able to spend a year freely traveling the Schengen zone and then head back to Portugal where we hopefully have a biometrics appointment waiting for us.
It just makes me so sad that weāre losing these years with our kids and made huge life decisions like homeschooling for this adventure that weāre now unable to have.
Hi Nicole, I have the similar status as you - applied Dec 21, no pre-approval yet.
Iāve been living in Lisbon without any problems since April 22. I was informed this is legal & perfectly legitimate.
My time in PT does not add to my 90/180 days in Schengen limit so I can legally travel in Schengen for that period too, and I do.
I understand this is the same as a Spanish resident card would give you too - unlimited time in Spain & 90/180 elsewhere in Schengen.
The difference would be with the Spanish card you have āproofā in the form of a card rather than resorting to a lawyerās letter because PT hasnāt issued you the physical visa yet.
While Iām based in PT iām inside the Zone and there are no passport checks on any flights within the Zone ( you need ID to board but not used as authority to travel). My experience is you will only be asked for a Visa on entry or exit, which you can do legitimately thru Lisbon airport without a problem.
Iāve counted my flights over the past year I transited Lisbon airport more than 50 times (in & out twice a month) last year and Iāve never had an issue. This includes flights to / from USA, UK and elsewhere in Schengen.
I hope this is helpful. (I hold a UK passport - which is outside EU and has a 90/180 schengen visa)
This IS helpful. I guess I am fearful of not having the residence card at the airport and dealing with someone in another country who doesnāt understand a letter from a lawyer or the chaos that is the SEF and GV in Portugal.
We understood it as we could do 90 days anywhere in Schengen but would then have to be back in Portugal after that and essentially be stuck there until we got our cards and biometrics but it sounds like we can do 90 days anywhere in the zone, then return to Portugal for 90 days (instead of returning to the US for 90 days) and then adventure out again after those 90 days.
I was worried that if we did 90 days shengen, 90 days Portugal, then tried to fly to somewhere like Italy or France, we would be told we overstayed the zone.
So I guess getting the Spanish digital nomad visa is redundant? Even though weāre not even pre-approved we can get a letter from our lawyer stating we do have Portuguese āresdidencyā?
Hi Nicole, unfortunately I donāt think other countries would necessarily respect that those 90 days in PT shouldnāt be counted as an overstay. My thinking on this is here: https://community.nomadgate.com/t/entering-portugal-after-pre-approval/53355/13 . The arrival of ETIAS will make it easier to enforce. Practice and theory may be different however.