I think you’re right to remind us of the slow processing times, but there is room for optimism (or really less pessimism).
From Sep 2022 we saw “waves” of Dec 2021 applications processed (see Awaiting Pre-Approval (Stage 2) - #583 by chetiansunny)
It seems there’s still later Dec 2021 to be approved.
Of course I would assume the HUGE number of applications on Dec 2021 would have been bigger than application received during the first 9 months of 2021.
I think application from Q1 2023 will be the same as Q4 2021, we are all expecting to wait a year for pre-approval.
BUT we do have some benefits, only this year they allowed online renewals for most visas (
See: Portugal Moves Online Applications for Visa Renewals, Including Golden Visas - SchengenVisaInfo.com), which should reduce SEF workload by 70% according to one of the Funds [who is of course biased] (See: The end is near. How to proceed before the closure of the Golden Visa. - YouTube), including GV renewals, so that should allow SEF to focus on the new applications and backlog.
Yes, it’ll still suck for new applicant’s, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they pre-approve the rest of 2021, all of 2022 and the current 2023 applicants this year.