@tommigun Can you please share the email address you used to contact SEF?
I need that email too, thanks
Status changed to “$Resources:status_2000;”
SEF IT guys having fun 
2 Likes
There is a whole thread dedicated to SEF Contacts 
2 Likes
Haha. I was also confused when I got this weird message. If you click into the link on the right of this weird notification, you can open your detailed file and you find the ‘Processing approval’ message 
1 Like
Haven’t changed anything so far
Status changed to “Concluído”
2 Likes
I’m still seeing Awaiting payment so far and I’m starting to get concerned. I did my payment around 21st night. More or less 48 hours after the application was submitted. Anyone else still on this phase?
same here, lets wait
I also have Completed status since today for all 5 of my applications (big family). I did send them an email last Thursday, maybe it helped. I even got a reply the next day saying that SEF is doing it’s best and I shouldn’t worry.
4 Likes
Did you email to their official contact center email?
Mine has now been updated to say “cancelled by SEF” fml
@rayjohn did you ever figure out what happened in your case? The payment has been made already and it has not refunded or anything.
yes, I don’t know of any other ones.
I first saw under review, but the next day I say Waiting for payment again. I was a bit worried, but then after a day or two I saw Completed.
You have gotten better end of the deal, none of our applications have been changed from awaiting payment and it is impossible to speak to anyone over the phone call, they do never respond to the emails and tried visiting the SEF office today, the security didn’t allow me inside their office as I don’t have an appointment. So, what can we do with an expired permit? Seems like take money and say we haven’t paid scam, SEF is nothing but a joke
So far it seems like the same thing happened to me they took my money and then canceled my request I can’t believe a government entity operates like this. I will never in my life deal with anything Portuguese once I get out of this fucking trap.
In other discussion groups some people say that the have the same status “cancelado pelo SEF” after the payment, but everybody forward each other that somebody managed to contact SEF and got a reply that it is one of the several technical mistakes they have in the system. Similar to “aguardando pagamento” despite the payment. To find that real person who “contacted” SEF is not possible unfortunately. Not sure if it helps but I see more and more people who renewed automatically other types of permits discussing the same problem and consensus is to wait.
Waiting 48 hours before payment is a must, but I guess that may be the time when the DUC becomes active has increased?
When in doubt, blame SEF incompetence, not maliciousness
2 Likes
Even I have gotten the same technical error response via email a day before they cancelled my application. waited more than 2.5 days before made that payment and yet this happens. Now I am able to resubmit the application and have to pay again?
No idea unfortunately. I think better to wait a bit, then write an email
Officially there is only one SEF email which is their Contact Center
In my experience they do respond, but quite slow and with kind of ‘useless’ formal responses.
I also communicated by direct email with the SEF office where I did my biometrics, and they were much better.
But I guess I have annoyed them too much so now they send me to Contact Center when I try talking to them