Yes. It has been known for quite a while on this forum and tested by multiple GVâers.
Key condition - application lodged before or on 31 Dec 2021.
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I agree with you, it sucks. To be honest you have a full right for complaining, especially about the ambiguity of the situation.
(I could be wrong) but my feeling is that PT/SEF doesnât simply have capacity (or desire) to weed out sanctioned individuals, so itâs shelving those cases âfor nowâ.
My hope is that there is still a chance for Portugal to restart the process for those applications.
In addition, there are known cases where Russian individuals filed a suit against SEF and won. As far as Iâve been told the case was simply about âWhy is it taking so long timeâ, which sorta gives some weight to my theory.
Feel free to DM.
Itâs interesting to note that Russians are still able to apply for the Spanish GV as long as they apply from within Spain and not from a Spanish consulate in Russia. I wonder if such loopholes exist with other GV programs.
Just to offer a different perspective from a Ukrainian:
My family and I started the process in 2021, mainly because of the never-ending russian aggression (the war actually started in 2014). When the invasion started, most airports were bombed. We were lucky to be in Europe at the time, but our elderly parents were still in Ukraine and couldnât leave immediately. The day they were going to travel by train to Poland to catch a flight to Portugal for their SEF bio-metrics appointment, a missile struck a train station. That scared the life out of them and they decided not to risk it. They missed their appointment and spent the next several months hiding in the basement of their house from 24/7 missile and drone attacks. The attacks are naked terrorism against civilians, mostly women with children and pensioners, since most men are fighting.
SEF was very helpful and accommodating, and they were able to reschedule their appointment. They could also have applied for a humanitarian visa, but we decided to proceed with GV so as not to put pressure on the welfare system. Fortunately, we are able to support our parents financially, while most of our fellow Ukrainian women and children are fleeing without any means, often in their pyjamasâŠ
Meanwhile, life in russia goes on mostly unaffected. People are still able to travel, albeit via indirect routes (Turkey is fully packed with russian holidaymakers). Ukrainian pensioners, women, and children, on the other hand, risk a perilous journey by train that takes several days just to have a good nightâs sleep without the sound of sirens. Our friend has an immobile blind mother who cannot even make it to a shelter during a night raid.
Appreciate there are exceptions (âThe Night in Lisbonâ by Remarque springs to mind). The process for russians&belarusians will likely be restarted in the future (or the fees and expenses will be reimbursed). Meanwhile, Ukrainian lives are lost and livelihoods are being destroyedâŠ
Olga, you seem like a good person, and hope you are an exception to the 80% of russians who support the war. I wish you and your family well, and clear skiesâŠ
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My understanding itâs in the gray area. Itâs not clear if this âallowanceâ would allow to exit PT (say to UK) and come back without 100% confidence.
I wish someone would provide more certainty there.
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Moving to Portugal before pre-approval has experience on this thread. If the application was before Dec 21 there is a Dispacho that permits it- referenced here: Can I live in Portugal before obtaining preapproval?.
After pre-approval exit and entry has been tested by @PCERoman. See thread: Moving to Portugal right after pre-approval and the specific post here: Moving to Portugal right after pre-approval - #56 by PCERoman
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Additionally, some public services have been tested successfully under the same Despacho:
- Autoridade Tributaria: becoming a tax resident in PT
- Customs: obtaining import tax exemption
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Frankly, the logic of law makers is not very obvious to me, if to consider the proposals from the logical point of view and taking into account the constitutional rights of human in EU.
My points are as follows:
-
âOligarkhsâ and other people at power, who really affect the policy of Russia, are successfully avoiding direct sanctions or just âsufferâ from some public âpunishmentsâ like the arrest of the yacht and couple of houses. They and their families continue holding second/third passports, including from EU, travel across the globe and continue doing their business. The ban on new residence permits or extensions will not affect them as they will find/buy their way to get what they need, and for sure it will not be announced in the newspapers and blogs.
-
Upper middle class people (and these are generally the ones who invests in GV and similar programs), who invested in Portugal as in their second future home, are suffering the most, as:
- theyâve spent a significant (for them) amount of money to fulfil the requirements of GV
- their applications are blocked and probably will be denied
- it is deemed close to impossible to sell the real estate they invested in (difficult to get paid, as EU bank accounts do not allow >âŹ100k balance, plus Russian authorities deny the payments for selling the real estate to be received on the non-Russian bank accounts)
- they meet additional restrictions in everydayâs life (âŹ100k limit for the bank accounts in EU, horrible compliance procedures for incoming and outgoing payments, blocked credit cards [e.g. you canât rent a car without a credit card], issues obtaining Schengen visas).
So the ban will severely affect them, but the objective is not clear.
- People who moved to Portugal years ago on GV and all their life is now in Portugal since 5-7 years. They moved their families, businesses, center of life interests (not the least to escape from the regime), and now they suddenly are declared personae non gratae.
They are in the worst situation, but have no power to affect neither Russian nor Portuguese authorities.
My perception is that EU legislation initiatives are targeting the Russian/Belarussian upper middle class to evaluate the bad consequences of the ruling powers in their countries and to (not sure) raise the revolution against them. Strange idea, considering that since ca. 10 years in both Russia and Belarus you canât even openly express anti-government position under the fear of criminal prosecution, and now you can even go to jail for 5-7 years just for reposting a funny anti-war meme.
The result is however very different from that:
- The image of EU in general and Portugal in particular as âsafe havenâ for educated, qualified and highly initiative people (believe me, others can not earn enough here to save extra âŹ600-700k for GV program), who are just willing to live in a fair community with transparent political and economical system, is completely ruined.
- I had intentions to deploy part of my business in Portugal, even if it was not necessary businesswise, just because I had sympathy to the country. Now I will not, and Portugal wonât get my taxes, local people wonât get jobs in my company, and other industry members wonât gain access to our technologies.
- Listening to the stories of my business counterparties from EU (Germany, France, CZ), people with Russian origin, who have moved like 15-20 years ago and have no links with the homeland and definitely no links with the roots of the current situation, I get shocked. People are getting demoted and fired just for having Russian origin. This makes me even more sure that I would change my mind and probably not target EU residence permit or citizenship anymore, since the declared values are very different from reality. Earlier jews, now Russians, whoâs next? White healthy wealthy caucasian male?
I donât remember anything like what I see now in relation to myself implemented towards US or German citizens after, say, bombing Belgrade (or is that âdifferentâ?), which supports the opinion of one of the topic participants that âWesternâ world still lives in the paradigm of its own supremacy.
As the outcome:
- instead of benefitting from migration processes (and many people from Russia who âdisagreeâ moved away) and attracting the most wealthy, educated and active immigrants, who on top of all are mostly against the current powers in Russia and Belarus, Portugal and EU warded all these people off and created a huge disappointment in minds.
- sanctions on national reserves, companies, individuals and (in more general) the nations demonstrated the rest of the world what may happen to them in any time point should they do something different from what US tells them to do. Iâd say itâs a bad story for the long run.
- as a Russian, stuck blocked in GV since late 2020, I expect all and any further restrictions, up to the seizure of my real estate in Portugal (because why not rob these powerless wildmen).
Sorry for this cry of the heart, which maybe does not have the direct relation to the topic, but at the end of the day weâre all here to share the different points of view.
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Dear Max,
While understanding your sentiment, comparing the predicament of the wealthy russians to the suffering of the Jews is, to put it mildly, a bit of an exaggeration. The golden visa applicants are willing to shell out 350-500k+ on a golden visa in the first place because they do not want to leave the country of residence, while comfortably making money in the country of origin. It is not Portugal that has broken all laws of humanity, committed genocide, or razed entire cities to the ground killing women and children in the 21st century. Most of the world believes that the other country is to blame for the wealthy russiansâs âtravailsâ, and it is not Portugal.
All countries will still be providing humanitarian visas to the fleeing russians with serious grounds, or via intercompany transfers, travel visas, and student visas (still work in many countries).
The wealthy, educated and active immigrants will continue coming and more business will be created regardless, since Portugal and Europe have a much broader appeal.
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Youâre going a bit too far. Please refrain from mentioning Jews in the context of comparing them to âwealthy Russians.â It is somewhat offensive. Perhaps you have forgotten history and do not remember why there were so many evacuated Jews in the USSR.
And please, do not use the general suffering of Ukrainians as an argument. We are, in fact, on the same side. When you fuel hatred based on class distinctions, you only make things worse. Furthermore, in Portugal, the majority of people are reasonable and interact with each other.
Your statement that GV applicants do not want to live in the country and live in their âcountries of originâ is also highly inaccurate. In the modern world, where intellectual work has become the primary means of production for young people, your statement is irrelevant.
Many, including several of my friends, chose GV because of the significant expansion of opportunities it provides. With GV, you can conduct business in different countries without the obligation to reside permanently, continue your education, and spend a substantial amount of time in the UK or the US, building connections and developing.
Your concept of âwhere you were born is where youâre usefulâ is outdated in the modern world.
I see that several advanced countries, particularly the US and the UK, have already begun revising their sanction policies, lifting sanctions even from individuals initially accused of all âdeadly sins.â This is encouraging.
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Dear BBBB,
I completely understand your standpoint and I cannot express how I, all members of my family and all my circle of friends regret the terrible things the Ukrainian people had and have to suffer due to the invasion. That is not the question to the normal people in Russia and Belarus, and when you say 80% Russians do support the things happening, just be sure you are far far away from truth.
Not to start the political discussion, but just to give a broader view: in your saying that a country âhas broken all laws of humanity, committed genocide, or razed entire cities to the ground killing women and childrenâ, speaking about the time frame of last 30 years you can easily put the name of some western countries, considering the wars in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lybia, Syria, Yemen and some other conflicts.
My point was not just about the GV. Youâre right, the Portuguese GV applicants do not deserve any portion of sympathy from whoever, as many of them, as you have correctly mentioned, wanted to continue comfortably making money in their homeland (which is by the way not very correct in my particular case as very big part of my income comes from outside of Russia) and keep PT just as a plan for retirement. My question is how the applicants from US or Saudi Arabia are in this case âbetterâ than the applicants from Russia and Belarus. For me the answer is not that obvious though, as I canât answer myself how come I am more responsible for the deaths of civilians in Ukraine than John from Texas is for the deaths of Iraqi children.
The story is a bit wider, thatâs what I try to say. Now EU is bringing in place (more or less efficiently) legal background to restrict the rights of people with Russian and Belarussian passports, just based on this parameter. In real life itâs even worse:
- wife of my Polish partner, originally Russian (has Russian and Polish citizenship), living constantly in Poland since 30 years, does not anymore have a bank account, itâs forbidden;
- daughters of my friends were getting their education in Brno. Last year they were kicked away from the university because of their Russian origin;
- three of my friends, senior managers of German private and state owned corporations (all having Russian and German passports), who have spent 70% of their life in Germany, were demoted and then fired because of their Russian origin;
- one of my friends living in France since 25 years, a university administrative worker, has serious issues with banks and local authorities despite having French passport besides the Russian one.
I am a person who was âwestern-orientedâ all my life. I spent 30% of my time in EU in last 15 years, I speak fluently 4 languages of EU countries, have executive master degree from EU school, share the values of equality, freedom and moving the world forward by innovation and hard work. Besides that Iâve never supported the powers in Russia and of course am against any kind of offensive actions towards anyone.
Now EU gives me a clear message: âyou are a second class person, and you will only have the rights we consider you may have at this time pointâ. And this message is supported by the facts from the real life in different countries and now more and more by legislative acts. Thank you, the message is clear. Good and broad enough appeal.
Itâs a very sad collateral loss from the US-China global rivalry, with Russia and Ukraine being the small coins in the big geopolitical game. I have to admit that we can discuss here a lot about the legal aspects of such âdenialâ, but at the end it will happen, and we (Russians and Belarussians) must admit our personal financial losses, not speaking about the people who already linked their life with Portugal since years.
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Thanks, Max, for a polite answer.
While I donât agree with most of your statements, I wish you and your family well.
In my experience, the rule of law always prevails in the Western Europe, despite the optics (thatâs probably one of the main reason while Europe is attracting immigrants from all walks of life in the first place). A bit of patience and a good judgement of timing (versus being tone-deaf) would probably go a long way. No one is ever going to expropriate any property of non-sanctioned private citizens. Once the dust has settled the visa applications will highly likely resume. The only question is when, but it would probably depend on the dynamics of the war waged by russia.
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Thanks for sharing, @tommigun I will talk to my lawyer.
Basically the steps are:
- Using despacho get a letter from a lawyer?
- Use the letter to show to authorities?
If so, how did the request to the lawyers look like?
Basically the steps are:
- Using despacho get a letter from a lawyer?
Yes - Use the letter to show to authorities?
Yes
If so, how did the request to the lawyers look like?
Talk to your lawyer and show them the Despacho.
They write the reference letter, which can be addressed to you in the 2nd person or âto whom it may concernâ in the 3rd person.
Thanks, already reached out. Will keep you posted.
@tommigun, @AutomationD, guys, are you talking about this Despacho https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/despacho/12870-c-2021-176908200?
Not sure how âletter from lawyerâ may help. The Despacho itself states that you need âThe documents attesting to the situationâ which are:
- b) The document proving the scheduling at the SEF or a receipt proving the request made in all other situations of processes pending at the SEF, namely concessions or renewals of residence permits, based on the general regime or exceptional regimes.
3 - The documents referred to in the previous number are considered valid for all public services, namely for obtaining the user number, access to the National Health Service or other health care rights, obtaining the social security identification number, access to social support benefits, entering into lease contracts, entering into employment contracts, opening bank accounts and contracting essential public services.
So as far as I understand SEF receipt youâve got after biometry is what you need.
Let me know if you think I misinterpret anything.
@aabukh You have lost paragraph a), which does not even require a passed or scheduled biometrics, it only requires the evidence of initial application.
a) O documento de manifestação de interesse ou pedido emitido pelas plataformas de registo em uso no SEF, nos casos de pedidos formulados ao abrigo dos artigos 88.Âș, 89.Âș e 90.Âș-A da Lei n.Âș 23/2007, de 4 de julho, na sua redação atual;
The Despacho itself is just a piece of legislation with a very âlegalâ and cryptic wording. Besides it does not tell anything about your own situation, your dates of application to SEF and any evidence you may have under points 2a) or 2b).
No chance that a regular public service worker is going to read this Despacho plain and tell you âyep, you are eligible, no problemâ. I know, I tried 
Hence a letter from lawyer written in a clear Portuguese, summarizing your legal rights under the Despacho and the evidence material attached (such as SEF portal printout, SEF scheduling emails, or SEF passed biometrics receipt - depending on the GV stage youâre at).
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I got a response from a lawyer.
They say this dispacho is related to renewals of the documents issued before Jan 1st 2023 and it doesnât say anything about the applications based on 88,89,90a.
I donât understand how such different is possible and itâs quite frustrating.
I suspect either you sent them a wrong Despacho, or they looked at the wrong one.
There is another Despacho related to renewals, which basically confirms expired cards are still valid.
It is NOT the same Despacho we talked about in this thread.
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I literally sent them this link from above https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/despacho/12870-c-2021-176908200.
Itâs possible theyâve looked at a wrong one.
I will ask again.