Met a couple from the US last evening and they discussed their GV application.
Applied end 2021, and were given an appointment this January for biometrics.
They informed their Attorney that the date was not ideal for them, so they would wait for another one.
Apparently, the Attorney is not a happy camper, and has told them so, but has said that he will try and schedule another one for them.
What do people here think about when a new appointment will become available?
Based on all of the previous posts about it. Just about, never.
I can see why their Attorney is not a happy camper for them declining the appointment…
Yes, had they read previous posts here, they might not have been so cavalier about their perceived status.
Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to immigration!
You can usually reschedule within the window, but not wait for a new window.
My husband was an exception. He missed his appointment for essential work reasons. Our lawyer was trying to get SEF to agree that our baby daughter (who had to travel with me anyway) could use his appointment instead, but we got the computer says no answer (although others got a yes in the same circumstances). So he missed it.
We were about to file a case to try to get his appointment rescheduled but a few months later our baby was called for her appointment and our lawyer petitioned SEF that my husband had to accompany her and so he should do his at the same time. They said yes. I’ve heard of one other almost identical case involving a parent getting a rescheduled appointment when accompanying a minor.
Honestly, unless there’s something quirky like this about their situation, they should file a case. Otherwise they may be waiting literally years, or never hear.
Good information and result in your case Selina! Well done.
Why would someone wait for an appointment for 3 years and then just not go? Or believe that somehow after 3 years things would work out fast.
I wouldn’t say it is as dramatic as never, but I know of people waiting 4 years for missed appointments. Even with good reasons.
Sometimes people may have a really good reason not to go. Just a few genuine reasons people have had for missing appointments:
Being able to schedule an appointment at a mutually convenient time is not a big ask!
Choosing a mutually convenient time may result in less general availability, but surely more delay for certain.
I only have previous experience with US Immigration, but it was a case of when they say jump, you immediately say please tell me how high.
I wasn’t saying you were wrong. Quite the opposite, you are completely right. I could throw in a bunch of more valid reasons. Usually, the “losing your job” situation doesn’t apply to someone doing a Golden Visa though.
You should be able to at least choose from a certain amount of dates. Unfortunately, it’s not how it is working.
They do give one month in advance (or more) for the people to prepare for the appointment. When you make such a big investment in something you have to be ready to get it done.
The system is so wrong nowadays (a process that should take 90 days is taking 3 years) that it seems to be done on purpose just for the applicants to quit. So when you miss their spots you’ll be stuck in a limbo, probably not forever, but for such a long time that it seems so.
There has been huge pressure from the EU to end the Golden Visas, which is a shortcut to the whole EU with an investment that doesn’t bring much to the whole EU (most of the time it helps out the local real estate only).
Investing 350-500k in the GV doesn’t neccessarily mean you’re financially independent. In fact if you have reached FI and aren’t tied to one location, there are easier ways to get an EU passport…
Both those sentences are true
In fact if you have reached FI and aren’t tied to one location, there are easier ways to get an EU passport…
Please share, I’m very curious what other options there are.
Without packing up and moving to the EU full time for several years at once, it doesn’t seem like there are many (any?) other options
The treatment of immigrants by SEF/AIMA (and the USA, for what it’s worth, we’re the worst) is horrendous, but if you are going down this path you really do need to just move heaven and earth to get to your biometrics appointment, no matter what.
We might not have really understood that a few years ago, but nowadays there’s no excuse. Either be ready to do that, or don’t bother with the GV (though, it’s complicated now if you can apply for citizenship based on the initial submission)
It’s not right, it’s not really acceptable to treat investors/immigrants that way, but it is what you signed up for.
I think the implication is that if you are Financially Independent, you would be fine with packing up and moving to the EU for several years. What’s holding you back, a job? Then you’re not Financially Independent enough!
Family, taxes, community, or hell just wanting to travel
I’d be happy to spend 4-5 months a year in Portugal for the next five years (that’s even my plan) but the other options tend to be brutal - something like you can only be gone a month or two every two years. Absolutely unworkable if you travel much
That’s exactly what I mean, if you don’t need a job then just move somewhere full time.
I disagree. GV may be very important to people, but important to the extent that you’d sacrifice your career over, not see a dying relative, or risk causing trauma to your infant through forced separation during the horrendous HK Covid policies? And if you’re in last weeks of pregnancies, you literally can’t travel - the airline won’t accept you. There are people in the black hole of missed biometric appointments for this reason.
Hello!
Unfortunately, getting a new appointment to collect the biometrics can be a nightmare.
It would be better for them try to adjust their lives to this appointment, as it can take years to get a new date
Respectfully, I disagree. If adjusting their lives were so easy, then they would not be doing the GV option - they would just move to Portugal! In my husband’s case he is a pilot who lost his job during Covid. He’d just found a new one, with the only airline that would recruit him in the country we live in at the time. His training for this new job clashed with the biometric appointment. If he’d “adjusted his life” to the biometric he would have lost his new job. We have a family to support, so this really was not an option. As I said, if we could so easily adjust our lives we’d move to Portugal (or some other European country) rather than be going down the GV route…
And as per the example I used above - someone in the last weeks of pregnancy literally can’t fly. So “adjusting their life” isn’t an option - and yet SEF were not taking that as a reason to reschedule biometrics.
Of course, if you can, you make changes to your plans to make the appointment - but sometimes, for legitimate reasons, you can’t. Your 500k investment plus all the legal fees you’ve incurred shouldn’t be wasted just because you can’t make a random appointment date given to you at quite late notice…
Thanks for sharing!!!
I’d like to add something. It is very important for a third world citizens to know the date of biometric at least 3 months in advance. Why? Because to apply a schengen visa, it takes 2-2.5 months.
My personal experience: I missed my first biometric although I was in informed 6 months in advance. Why? I applied schengen visa at portugal embassy in 2021. They said that all citizens of my country were not allowed to enter portugal at that time. But SEF continued to send out biometric appointments to all members of my family. My lawyer tried to inform sef and requested them to change the dates. They did not care. They did not read emails/ phone calls. Consequently all family missed the biometric. It took us more than 2.5 years for the whole family complete the first bio.
They asked me to complete the process but they did not allow me to enter the country. So, how could it be even possible??? Still hard to swallow!