We applied for the automatic renewal yesterday at night and tried to pay this morning and the payment was successful. Now to just wait for the cards.
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Could anyone share details about the auto renewal process? Do you upload all the requested documents, and then receive a notice to pay?
Is there a process for SEF to validate the documents and qualifications/continuation of the investment?
Do you need to register yourself or can lawyer do it, and does the same login credential from previous SEF site work also?
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You register on SEF website with your email, date of birth, and document number (residence title, residence card). After receiving a confirmation email, you login and then go to requests - automatic renewal. You enter your password, residence permit number and it takes you to a pre-filled page with your data. The data is: Residence Permit Number, Name, Surname, Marital Status, NIF number then address to receive the card. When you double check this data and confirm, it sends you an automatic email with the payment amount and reference number. In the email it mentions that the payment will be possible within 48 hours. There are no documents needed to upload or anything. Very straightforward and easy renewal.
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It’s a separate ‘login’ on the main SEF portal, not the same as the SEF ARI portal.
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Here is the website to register: registo and yes, if you’re already registered on SEF you can login with the same credentials.
You are saying to enter NIF number.
On the registration site it asks for "
(Residence Title | Residence Card | Visa Sticker)"
That doesnt seem like it is asking for NIF… Are you sure?
Also, is it necessary to create a separate account for each dependents?
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I’m sorry that is a mistake while typing in a hurry. You register with the document number (residence title, residence card). Will edit it out.
Yes, you have to apply and pay separately for each dependent.
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On the registration site it asks for "
(Residence Title | Residence Card | Visa Sticker)"
This is the 9-letter alphanumeric code located on the top right of your residence permit card, next to the words “TITULO DE RESIDENCIA”.
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And was there any request for proof of minimum stay in Portugal, as per the requirements of the GV? I’m following your renewal process with interest, so thanks for sharing this info.
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I can happily say that no, there is nothing to submit. No proof of stay or any document like marriage certificate or criminal record or anything. There is really nothing you need to attach.
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Does this mean that renewals can happen without Biometrics and the applicant does not need to travel to Portugal.
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For the ones outside of Portugal, do you guys keep your home address on the SEF auto renewal page or need to change it to your lawyer address so they can receive the card once it’s ready?
I don’t have a definite answer but I sure hope so!
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Hi everyone,
First time on this thread as I am a relative newbie and am still only at the pre-approval stage, having been pre-approved back in Mar/May 2022 and with biometrics appointment scheduled for 6 Mar 2023.
Have I properly understood this thread? Is it the case that GV (ARI) holders of residence permits will now be able to renew those permits after the initial 1 or 2 years of residence -
- Entirely online (automatic renewal)
- No updated documents to upload or provide (not even police certificates/criminal records)
- No appointment in person at a SEF office in Portugal
Is this now the standard procedure for all holders of a GV from here on?
And does it also apply to GV holders who don’t live in PT, who only go there for the required 2 weeks per 2 years etc
Sorry I don’t read Portuguese (yet) and I don’t have access to the SEF online portal as my application has been handled entirely by my lawyer.
Would be happy to hear from anyone who has successfully renewed their GV using this process, especially if they live outside of PT and their expiry is after the 1 Jan-31 Mar 2023 window mentioned above.
It sounds too good to be true! I can’t believe what I’m reading here! It sure would be amazing if this were indeed to be the new standard procedure for renewals. I have been well and truly fed up with collecting documents, arranging apostilles and notarisations, waiting in the dark for a SEF biometric appointment to turn up, not knowing if/when you will be invited to schedule your appointment, fretting about missing the email notification and the 10-day window for booking.
Even though I now have a biometrics appointment for the whole family, you never know, what if your flight gets cancelled, or some other thing and you don’t manage to make it to your appointment. Then it’s to the back of the queue again. A crazy system.
So if they have really brought in a seamless process for renewals that will apply to everyone from here on that would really be a dream!
(Sorry for the rant!)
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I put my lawyer’s address so they can receive it on my behalf and send it to me. I don’t know if you ‘need’ to do it, it’s just our preference.
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Thanks for your answer. I am not so keen on doing that as I won’t be able to prove an EU address for banking purposes. It usually requires a utility bill or a bank statement that needs to match the address on the residence permit.
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If u are in Portugal rock on down to your freguesia with tour purchase contract and have them issue a proof of residence. Then walk into the post office bank or banco atlantico and you will have your account the same day.
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It is certainly the case right now that GV renewal is an automatic online procedure which requires no documentation - no apostilled certificates, no proof of presence, no proof of continued investment etc etc.
And yes, this does apply to people who are not resident in Portugal. The whole point of the GV, the reason it is so expensive is that it provides the option but not the obligation to reside in Portugal for most of the year.
But IMHO this is highly unlikely to be the new normal - it is a stopgap to ease SEF’s backlog. The 2022 budget says it’s a stopgap until the SEF reorganisation is complete:
Simplified granting and renewal of residence permits
1 - Until the Portuguese Agency for Migration and Asylum (APMA) and the Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado, I.P. (IRN, I.P.), assume competence in terms of granting and renewing residence permits, under the terms of article 3 of Law no. 73/2021, of 12 November, a simplified procedure for processing applications for granting and renewing residence permits remains in force for 2023.
What we can hope for is that SEF and its successors have the vision to automate getting information which can change (already envisaged in the budget proposal), the serenity to not insist on information which doesn’t change (birth certificate, tax ID, biometrics), and the wisdom to tell the difference. So that the renewal process beyond 2023 won’t become the complete logjam of 2022. And if they do get into a logjam, this will serve as a precedent to relieve excess pressure with an automatic online procedure.
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Lawyer’s address as well. The card was forwarded to me by my lawyer once it was issued.
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This is amazing, sounds like a dream 
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