Please help. There is no information on this anywhere.
Thanks
Andrew
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It definitely is not excellent. Surely someone has done it themselves. It has to be easier to renew than to start the process.
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Most of us have used lawyers. When we signed up, we contracted for the renewals as well. So there isnāt a ton of information on DIY if you are looking for that. @tommigun did a lot of DIY work for his application and most of that is probably relevant to the renewal. As 6 said, you need most all the same paperwork, there is no push-a-button to it. There is, after all, no requirement that the renewal be easier than the application.
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Let me put the disclaimer first that I am probably the least qualified person to advise on renewals as I have not yet received my first pre-approval 
That said, there is a set of official PDFs on the SEF website listing out required renewal documents for each GV route. For example, the standard property route renewal list can be found here (English version):
Now my understanding is that for renewals youād just get on your usual SEF ARI portal and book your renewal biometrics appointment. There is apparently no online pre-approval involved hence no need to submit the scans in advance online.
Hope this is helpful for what itās worth.
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And hereās the equivalent PT material for the standard property route renewal, plus the internal SEF Manual also in PT which describes the Renewals process āfrom the insideā starting on p.23 (although not very helpful for an applicant reallyā¦)
Lastly, the official page for the Renewals, I assume you may have seen it though.
Confirms the point about going straight to booking the on-site visit:
āthe documents needed for the renewal are to be submitted at the on-site application.ā
https://imigrante.sef.pt/en/renovar-residencia/art90-a/
I recommend you follow the links from this page as the ones I posted above may be some older versions found by direct google search.
Thatās because you donāt renew the visa. You renew the residence permit.
Thanks for your help everyone. I will post details when I work out how to get it done.
Right now I canāt work out how to start the process. The portal hasnāt changed to allow me to start the renewal process. I canāt add more documents or book an appointment.
My first card expired end of may 2022, am I trying to find an appointment too soon. Or is there something I need to do to the portal to start the renewal.
Thanks
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The SEF portal instructions for initiating renewal are listed here:
https://ari.sef.pt/InfoPT/Renovacao.aspx
Unfortunately, it does not mention the time period when the āCalendarā becomes available for scheduling.
I would guess it may be 3 months prior to your expiry date, or 45 days prior, simply based on the validity period of the required documents, such as criminal record or Tax āno-debtā declaration.
Hi Andy,
For renewal itās 2 steps:
Step 1: you donāt need any documents.
In this step you access the portal and get an appointment. Ofcourse these days, SEF has kind of stopped the scheduling system. But thatās where the renewal process should start normally.
A note here, you can schedule an appointment up to 3 months before your current card expiresā¦I did 3 months before and it was fineā¦It took 3 months to get the card, so it was perfect timing ā¦ Donāt risk doing it earlier than 3 months as the System will accept but SEF might not.
Step 2:
Once your appointment is scheduled and you receive an Email confirmation from SEF, you need to gather all the needed documentsā¦follow SEF documentation.
The main document needed is the criminal record certificate which needs to attested by a Portuguese embassy. The other documents I usually get from my lawyerā¦she usually collects them all in less than a week, but if you are DIY, you would need to collect some documents from you real estate agent and tax representative, and sign a few more. (Check the SEF required docs for renewal)
Make sure you time your Criminal record certificate to be valid (within 3 months) on the date of your biometric appointment.
As this is the most time consuming document in some countries; Knowing the date of your biometrics helps alot in your planning.
I hope the above helpsā¦
Regardsā¦
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Hi,
The steps are clear, meanwhile, there is no availability to start the renewal process.
All contacts with SEF regarding that question continued with the "follow the standard processā¦ apply on the ARIās website, end so on. In fact, during the last 3 months, it wasnāt possible to arrange a new appointment either on the Continent or on the islands. So, there is no way to proceed with the renewal at the moment.
The main concern is what will be in the case the existing residence term will expire before SEF will arrange the appointment system on their website. How they will consider that unavoidable gap?
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They will keep extending your residency card
Renewals are much lower priority for SEF.
If you remember they extended until December 2021,
Then again until end of March 2022, my guess is they will extend again.
You can enter Portugal with an expired card if itās in the extension period, but Iām not sure if you could enter other European countries.
This does not impact your timeline to PR as the counter starts from the date of your first GV.
Regards,
At what stage will they require me to pay the application fee (Euro532)? Before or after you make the appointment?
First time around, you submit documents then they get approved then you pay(Euro532)ā¦ then you book biometrics get the biometrics and when approved, pay again(Euro5336).
also on the website is says āStatus of the application: Transferredā is this normal?
Thanks
Andrew
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Yes thatās normal,
You need to pay the 532 at the biometrics.
Once your do you biometrics and they approve your application (about 2 months) you are required to pay 2600+.
Then you wait 20 days and you should get a new card
I also use my lawyer to renew. To add to Bishoās comments, I had to collect my boarding passes and expense receipts to prove my stay in Portugal during the time period required and she put them all together with a cover page that summarized the expenses (date, NIF of the merchant, etc.). My renewal date is about to expire, but I have not been able to get a SEF appointment. She tells me that thereās no need to worry. Honestly, if it werenāt for the lawyer, I might be panicking because at this point, SEF has not said anything about this issue yet, as far as I know. Has anyone heard anything?
Sorry, itās not my NIF number, itās the number of the receipt. She put the 1) name of the GV applicant, 2) dates in Portugal, 3) total number of days on top of the summary and listed 1) the date of the receipt, 2) the nature of the expense, including the name of the establishment, 3) the receipt number (which appears on the receipt), and 4) Remarks. In Portugal, merchants will often ask if you want to enter your NIF number with the purchase. I used to do that but stopped doing it because my lawyer said that it was done for tax purposes and it was not necessary for GV unless you are living in the country.
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I feel like Iām going mad. I just keep checking for appointments and I havenāt seen one. So I canāt even tell if Iām looking in the right place.
In a perfect world, if the system was working, am I correct in saying that I would find an appointment and book it and only then have to pay the application fee for the renewal? or even only pay this fee at the SEF office?
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You are able to travel directly to Portugal. Probably a good idea to travel to Portugal and secure your appointment before your card expires on 31 Mar 2022 (Decree-Law No. 119-A/2021, December 22nd).