I think it is because the SEF portal was then closed till June, so hardly any applications were received Jan to mid June 2022. So perhaps not that there would be more applications handled, but we should see June 2022 applications being pre-approved once the Dec 2021 applications have been dealt with.
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From my own lawyerâs perspective, their firm saw âconsiderably fewerâ applications in 2022 than in 2021.
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According to other sources, June 2022 is worse than December 2021 given that 6 months of applications were lodged in less than a week.
Regardless, there is a huge backlog which needs to be cleared. Processing times will only increase from here on and not decrease for applicants who applied after June 2022 unless the SEF gets itâs shit together.
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@kai.kiyoto another way to look at it is to think that had the SEF portal not closed, all these applicants anyway would have been in the system for processing had it been business as usual. There was no ârule changeâ event driving a surge. The only difference now is that there is likely a big batch of applicants in June 2022, but it does cover the first half of 2022.
I think the timelines for those applying since mid-March 2023 will be a lot longer, as the volume of applicants has very likely picked up recently for obvious reasons.
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Agreed. Also, both can be true. June had the demand from the first half of the year, but the demand may have been much lower than in 2021 due to the rule changes that made the real estate path far less appealing.
June 2022 could be 1/10th of Dec 2021 for all we know. There are certainly far fewer applicants from that time period on this forum. The unfortunate thing is that so many applications in any given month makes it hard to gauge SEFâs progress, versus knowing âok SEF is working on March nowâ.
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Great news, congrats, I applied one day next you in application, letâs us see how much longer.
My lawyer told me thereâs a pre approval on 5/25 for 12/22/2021. On her hand there are three more cases, 23,24, and 27. Weâll see how that goesâŠ
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Youâve got to be close!
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Very happy to read this. Wishing you a smooth rest of the process.
Well my turn to post my obligatory date of my GV application and take the expected long wait time to 1) stay healthy and alive and 2) absorb as much as I can in prepping to move a family of 3 to Portugal in a few years.
GV under my name, submitted April 26, 2023. My wife and mother submitted May 10, 2023. Fingerâs crossed to get my pre-approval in the next 3-6 months. 
How many fingers do you have and how hard can you cross them?
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Just to confirm you did apply for the Portuguese GV, right? If so, then sorry mate, itâs not happening.
Maybe if you applied for some other countryâs GV, then yes you could expect it in 3-6 months.
Hi that is good news and good luck with the document they are requiring. Would you be happy to share what your process number is? Our lawyer tells us my husbandâs process number is 00108 and in the ARI portal the date indicated as submitted is 01/02/2022. Then the date stated for documentation having been submitted is April 27th, and then the real submission date was June 2022. Thank you 
Rae
Hi
Please could you let me know what the statutory form is for unmarried couples?
Thank you
Hi Nicky, It will depend on the country youâre from, so need to google around that and perhaps âcertificate of no impedimentâ or âstatutory declarationâ.
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Ok thanks. One more question, if you sent apostilled documents on the initial application do you have to get them all redone for the preapproval if there is a big wait time between submission and preapproval?
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All documents with expiry dates need to be valid at the time of biometrics. So eg. criminal records with apostille ⊠yes.
For biometrics, yes. But not specifically for pre-approval (unless requested by SEF)
Yes â applied before 12/27/21 â still waiting
I applied on 23/12/2021 status still pending