We applied (54 days ago) on 18 Jan 2021. No notification of approval has been received to date. If three months is the magic time, the ETA would be around 18 April.
Update:
Pre-Approval received Sep 2021.
My preliminary approval came through in 82 days (10 Dec - 2 Mar).
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So everyone here in this thread who have received their preliminary SEF approval, how secure do you feel regarding the process ? In my case, I feel there isnt much room for progress in 2021, and I think the delays are very unnecessary. It’ll be very easy for the Government in Portugal to make some special accommodation for those who have already been preapproved, and dispense with biometric requirment due to travel restrictions etc (caused by the pandemic)
It would make a lot of sense if the Portuguese government is able to expand the means of providing biometrics, especially under pandemic conditions. They could simply accept the biometrics in the various embassies or consulates in the applicant’s resident country and provide a letter of the Residence Visa on an A4 sheet of paper.
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What my lawyers told me is that you can officially stay in Portugal from the moment you have submitted you documents to SEF. You can not leave the country if you don’t have any other Schengen visa (in case you require one to travel in EU), but staying inside Portugal is legal while your case is being approved and obviously before the biometrics are finally done.
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Does this give you the right to enter the country when it is otherwise locked down? How do you prove this to border control? It seems a gamble to show up at the airport and trust that border agents will understand this and honor it based on what, a printed email confirmation indicating you are pre-approved?
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Not sure how this works at the airports, as I’ll be entering by car from Spain. But again, the lawyers said they issue a confirmation signed by them and attach a confirmation from SEF.
In your case I would reach out to your lawyers and also the consulate to get this out of the way. Definitely not gambling taking a flight bearing a risk of being rejected at the border.
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Our lawyer also indicated that entry to attend the biometric appointment was allowed. However, I am hopeful this won’t be an issue by the time we will be traveling to Portugal for our yet-to-be scheduled appointment.
I am a citizen and resident of a country which is not entitled to any sort of visa on arrival / visa waiver, to any EU and / or most Western Countries, and every time I visit the EU, I have to apply for a Schengen visa (which in the pre-covid days took 30 days on average). At the moment, all EU embassies are not accepting most Schengen visa applications. My lawyers have informed me that the best they can do is send me an invitation letter along with supporting documents to give to the Embassy of Portugal for purposes of a visa application.
I am quite certain, that mere pre-approval of my ARI / Golden Visa Application, would not entitle me to enter Portugal without a proper Schengen Visa. I do hope, very much, that I am wrong.
More or less that’s what I meant. Can’t give more details unfortunatelly, since I’m in the same situation with limited knowledge…
But…when you go to your SEF account you can see there’s a QR code icon at the top-right - that thing should become active at some point at would give access to a Certificate of Registration of your application for the Residence Permit. But it is inactive now. Again according to the lawyers it should be activated at some point.
Again, I would call your local embassy and ask them directly. Hope this helps!
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I did just read on a Facebook group that SEF is basically closed except for emergencies until early April. Unfortunately, this is going to set back biometric appointments even further. Are we looking at July 2022? Who knows. I suppose you can only control what you can control in life but this is getting a bit ridiculous.
I went for the appointment in December and have just been informed that my application has been approved. Now waiting for the residence permit to arrive. The SEF seems to be quite efficient in the last couple months.
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That is wonderful news! Congratulations.
Nice to hear that SEF is making good progress.
Hey, I was just wondering where you got the applicants’ data points cuz i’ve been looking for them.
Is that question to me?
What data points do you mean? From SEF approval numbers?
Yes, this question is for you because you mentioned in your first post how you gathered applicants’ data.
Gotcha. Thank you for the information!
Congrats on having the pre-approval! Yes, SEF is still closed…and I check every day if the appointments are available but the calendar is still unavailable.
Last week my paperwork came together, just under the wire on account of the nerve-wracking apostille delays, and my ARI application was submitted! Perhaps they will be scheduling biometric appointments by the time my application is processed.
Congrats on the pre-approval. Has anyone been given any tentative time by which biometrics slots will be available. Also, does anyone know whether the initial SEF Approval can expire after passage of some time if biometrics are not done ?
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