If you don’t mind me asking, which law firm said this?
I heard that APMMA (Agency for Minorities, Migration amd Asylum) is taking over this process from SEF. I would like to be hopeful about this transition but it seems that the process will be same and the number of the employee will stay same. It is pity that there is more than 6-7 billion dollar fund provided by Golden Visa but it can not provide necessary investment on people to provide this service for us.
I see there in only one pre-approval in gv-timeline database which was last week. Apart from this update, there is not any update this month regarding a pre-approval.
There are worse numbers I may bring to attention of yours.
In 09.2022 they started to process 12.2021 applications and they are still processing now. 13 months!!! They are still processing only one month’s application. Sorry there must be something wrong about these numbers. It is like they are processing another backlog. There is definitely something wrong about these numbers. I know that at the end of 2021 there was tremendous new applications however still I can not justify these numbers.
2 Likes
If they spent the GV money on the GV program, that would be wasting money on a program they dont like or support. That money could be spent building lavish govt offices instead!
1 Like
Their average processing rate per day is around 4-6 
If they will continue to process applications with same velocity, it turns out that it will complete all applications in 2030 
I am not kidding. 8000 applications are pending to be processed.
I guess they will not start to process 2022 applications this year. December will be holiday time 
They will complete this year somehow.
1 Like
If family members are added after original application but before pre-approval, does it delay the application even more? Or would the family members still be evaluated at the same time as the original applicant?
The most expedient way is to submit family applications straight after paying the initial DUC for the main applicant. That’s the moment when the Family section on the SEF ARI portal becomes available for submissions.
Then everyone in the family follows pretty much the same timeline with all the subsequent steps together.
2 Likes
I (primary applicant) submitted late Oct 2021, husband and son a few weeks later in November and daughter in Jan 2022 (she was born after we submitted the application). We were all pre-approved on the same day in May 2022, our timeline reflected my original application date.
From what I’ve picked up here it seems if the family applications are submitted before the main applicant is processed, they are done at the same time. However if they’re submitted after, then the family members seem to take their own position in the roughly chronological queue.
I plan to buy my own private insurance if I move to Portugal before pre-approval but in case I have a major incident, is it possible to get access to the public healthcare system prior to residency? Thanks
If you applied before Jan 2022 then yes, you have full access to the PT public health.
There is also a thing called GHIC (which is a renamed EHIC) allowing certain non-EU nationals full access.
1 Like
Congratulations, Selina most definitely wonderful news for your family. ;<)
Unfortunately, that is not the case for some as I submitted/paid 18, December 21 and spouse/ dependant submitted/paid 20, January, 2022.
We are still awaiting his pre-approval and I completed biometrics 13, April, 2023.
Unsure how many are in the same boat, but it’s definitely frustrating!
Applied with my family on 23 Dec 21 - just received pre-approval for me and my family same day on 27 Oct 23.
20 Likes
Perhaps the last pre-approval from the SEF!
I guess process of taking over is completed. There is minor changes on the website.
You applied in Dec 2021, yet dependents applied in Jan 2021?
OOps, I meant Jan, 2022. Thanks for catching the error. :<)
**Updates after biometric appointment yesterday.
Our timeline- all four of us applied dec. 27, 2021
Notified of pre-approval September 20, 2023
Oct. 11, 2023 Booked SEF appointment for Oct. 31
Oct. 31, 2023 Biometrics appt. Completed in Coimbra- took less than one hour for family of four
As you can see, we waited almost 2 years for pre-approval but then we got both pre-approval and biometrics DONE in only a little over one month.
We had our biometrics yesterday (oct.31) in Coimbra. Our lawyer told us the transition from SEF to AIMA had happened the day before. The only change noted was that they had him re-do some of our forms during the appointment. They’re the exact same forms but have a different logo now so they must be re-done.
The woman working was flustered and seemed stressed. We had four different appointment slots for our family of four and were supposed to be there from 11 am until about 4:30 pm with each person having their own separate time/appointment. Our lawyer, who wanted to get things done quickly, asked if we could all go at the same time since we had our two kids with us and she said no way, she has way too much work and there was a staff meeting in the middle of our appointments and she couldn’t do it.
Our lawyer was organized and she ended up doing all four of our appointments in about 60 minutes. It was very easy.
The only thing we had to do was take a photo, two fingerprints and sign our name. We had met with our lawyers in August and they had already taken our passports, social security cards etc to certify and our lawyer did all the heavy lifting with documents etc.
Our lawyer also tried to reason with her regarding our expired FBI background check that was valid until only five days before the appointment. The fbi check was valid when we booked our appointment a few weeks ago but since we did it in the states before we traveled to Portugal in August, they expired. He explained that it is not the fault of the client that we were prepared but couldn’t get an appointment for all four of us until a few days after it expired. She explained that he can appeal it, so we will do that. However, he thinks we will need to return to the states next week, re-do the fbi background check for the third time, have it apostiled and then re-submit.
The experience was enjoyable. We stayed in Coimbra overnight to ensure we didn’t arrive late. We walked to our appointment and were let into the locked building Pedro, the security guard who we really enjoyed chatting with while we waited. He was so kind. There were lots of chairs with little trays like on an airplane so my kids could draw and color. My 9 year old was SO nervous signing his first official signature and legal document. It was adorable. My 7 year old just needed to print her first name.
After such a quick appointment we had the rest of the day to enjoy Coimbra.
Now we wait…… we know the expired FBI docs will cause a delay but hoping it’s not a huge issue.
- we had re-apostilled both our marriage and birth certificates in July and re-did fbi check as well before we came to Portugal in August. We did this in hopes that a miracle would happen. We had a three month trip planned and wanted to be prepared in case we got pre-approval and appointment and it worked out that way. The only hiccup was the fbi docs expiring five days before our biometrics appointment.
17 Likes
Congrats! My husband (Dec 2021 applicant) had an uneventful biometrics appt. in Coimbra on the same day. I will update the database.
3 Likes
Thank you for the detailed review! Good to see things are moving forward, very, very slowly, but surely.
Hi. My consultant sent a very positive email. Pasting the contents here to help spread the hopium.
"We have some positive news to share with you today, the Immigration Border Services (SEF) has now been replaced by a new immigration agency – Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA) – Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum.
This new agency will be responsible for your Golden Residence permit (GRP) process, and has committed itself to improving its services in the upcoming months and years:
- With a budget of over EUR 80M, it starts off with 34 branches across the country but plans to open at least 10 new branches within a year, in partnership with municipalities and universities.
- Inheriting all pending applications, it plans to launch a digital portal by the end of the year for online applications, facilitating a much more efficient granting and renewal of residence permits;
- It will invest heavily in digital infrastructure and human resources, hiring 190 new employees.
- It will create user-friendly and a fast-serviced telephone contact for migrants.
- It will implement a permanent auditing team on the ground, that will be responsible to assure internal procedures run smoothly, as well as prevent fraud.
By separating the police and administrative functions, AIMA’s operation will prioritize pending cases and clear the long experienced backlogs, including within the GRP Program.
We are encouraged that this will be the start of a more positive experience for existing and incoming clients, such as yourself, and will continue to keep you informed as the processes are improved."
3 Likes
I dont think much of that applies to GV people. We arent immigrants or migrants to them, just wallets.
Fingers crossed I am wrong.