Yeah but 60 days from the date of payment just to print a card is just pure incompetence. Honestly this entire summer is wasted because of this thing, unlikely I will be getting the card before October.
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I have sent over 10 emails with all the proofs and a physical letter sent to all the major SEF offices by my lawyer and I personally visited SEF office by lining up at 6AM to get a number (but failed to get one)… so there’s nothing else I can do at this point of time.
I had this happen for one of my family members. We emailed them a few days a week, BCC’ing tons of different SEF email addresses, for many months. Took months of auto-responders and generic responses asking for the same info over and over, but one day the problem was fixed. Still don’t know who fixed it or what email address / group helped. No one ever wrote back telling me it was fixed. Someone there must have seen enough of my emails and taken pity and just fixed it. Good luck!
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Today I did line-up early morning in front of the SEF office at 5:30AM and managed to get a ticket at 8:15AM and was able to meet with an actual person just before lunch break. The response from the officer was nothing but ‘Ice cold’ the officer said the online system we have access to, has nothing to do with the internal system used by them. As per the officer they should deliver the cards within 60 working days after the payment and not the calendar days… So, they are within their timeline and we have no recourse or an option to expedite the process. The current residency permit although expired is valid within the national territory and it is not valid for a re-entry or a permit to travel within the Schengen area … The officer schooled me like a kindergartener …
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Can confirm that all SEF deadlines (so far as they pay any attention to them) are measured in business days, not calendar days. That’s written into the law.
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Update for those interested. A light at the end of the tunnel:
July 21 - Submitted Application
July 22 - Made payment, money debited
Aug 1 - Status turned to “Completed”
Aug 21 - Residence cards received by my lawyers in Lisbon
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Same here, received last week.
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Good to hear that you have gone through the hurdles successfully. Congratulations Zayed
Congratulations, Mike
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Reading this thread gives me hope as we’re still at “Stage 2” that the process gets smoother. Hopefully online renewals becomes permanent for both it’s simplicity and it will also free up SEF resources to process initial applications.
Thank you very much for this posting. It has made my life a thousand times easier!
My card expired on Feb. 7, 2022 but remained valid until Dec. 31, 2023 by legal decree. I was able to convince my lawyer to try renewing online and she was able to do it successfully on Aug. 30. I submitted my payment to SEF on Oct. 1 and need to wait until the card arrives.
If I understood you correctly, my new card will be valid for 2 years from the date of approval or issue (for example, if approved or issued on Sep. 1, 2023, it will be valid until Aug. 31, 2025), is that correct?
Thank you once again
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Indeed, and you don’t need any lawyer to renew it online, you can do it yourself.
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Because of all of the confusion, I thought that I would be in good hands with a lawyer. I probably would not be where I am now without Nomad Gate and all you wonderful people!
I was able to get an online renewal of my ARI on Aug. 30, but my lawyer says that I still need to give her a criminal record with a 3 month validity (translated, notarized locally, apostilled, and notarized by the Portuguese embassy). Does this make sense?
She also says that I need to give her my original property deeds, although she has managed for the last 3 years with photocopies and a caderneta predial. She won’t say why she needs the originals.
Can anyone help me understand the situation? Thank you.
Criminal record isn’t needed for the automatic renewals, you can spare that one. For the second issue, its a common practice for the lawyers office to keep a copy of the Original sale deed as the Notary/Registry hands you out two copies at the time of registration- One for you and another one for the lawyer. Lawyers in Portugal does have the same powers as a Notary, if in case you lose the document they can always reissue another one… So, this is for your safety.
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I think it is safer to have all required documents even with automatic renewal. I myself am preparing criminal record from my home country for October renewal. Same for investment.
Portuguese criminal record is no more needed, as SEF now could request it itself, and you (your lawyer) only give them authorization to access.
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I didn’t know that there were 2 copies of the deeds. She said that she only had photocopies and needed the originals even though her firm did the CPCV… Thank you for your comment.
You’re right. Even though I may not comprehend, I should play it safe and prepare what she’s asking for. If anything goes wrong, I don’t want to be blamed. Thank you once again for your comment.
Yes, if approved on (say) Sep 10, 2023, it will be valid till Sep 10, 2025 (not Feb 2025 as per your old card).
I was able to renew my card successfully following your instructions (performed by my lawyer). To share my experience, online approval on Aug. 30, payment system active and payment made on Sep. 1, card received on Sep. 11 with validity until Sep. 4, 2025. Thank you once again for all the information, advice, and support!!!
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