Interestingā¦and strangeā¦Iāve been over this with my lawyers about 10 times already and they will provide a letter signed from their side confirming my status in case I get stopped at the border for documents check.
Oh well, Iāve got no choice, so will be checking this out in about a month.
Anyhow, got some confidence in what theyāre saying, since theyāll be the ones in the court in case something goes wrong 
What they might have meant is that it grants you no right to stay infinitely but you can stay for the purpose of going to the biometrics.
To be honest Iāve got no freakinā idea how my situations should be approached: Iām an Israeli (visa waiver with EU for 90 days) and Russian (got a Schengen visa and a student visa in Spain) citizen, my wife is Belarusian (student visa in Spain), weāre living in Spain with a student visa
I assume that since weāre already in the EU and thereās no ground border between Portugal and Spain, itās not the question of entering into Portugal, but rather of legally staying in the country while waiting for the biometrics.
No, the ground border between spain and portugal is currently closed.
well, you could say that you are entering for the biometrics appointmentā¦ just that one hasnāt been assigned yetā¦ but youāll be there just in case the calendar clears!
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Without having an official document that indicates the reason to travel and the permission to enter Portugal due to that reason, I think the airline will not allow the boardingā¦
Very stressfulā¦
Just got my residence permit earlier this week. Probably the SEF isnāt that bad.
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Thanks for sharing your news. Looking back at your earlier post, sounds like you had your biometric interview in Decemberā¦ is that correct?
Yes, I had my interview in December and got my card last week.
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Congrats. Just tells me that we need to do all things sooner rather than later.
Timings update: got a biometrics appointment for end of August.
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@tsiksssooo Congrats ā May I ask how you / your lawyer got it (and which SEF office)? I just spoke with my lawyer and there currently still no slots available to bookā¦
Thanks @tedbean! Office in Lisbon. Not sure how they did it though, but I donāt think thereās any secret methodā¦probably they were just quicker. I think itās going to be easier from now with most of businesses and services re-openning in Portugal.
Yeah probably you have a much quicker lawyer : > I sure hope so, itās the ultimate test of patience.
How many slots did they get for you application (i.e., number of applicants)?
Is it your first appointment to get the Biometric ? Or you do the renewal ? I am so frustrated with the little finger print processā¦ a little thing that can be done within a day or a week (max) in other country could easily take months or even years to get done in Portugal.
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Just the 2 of us
It is first, yes. I know itās frustrating, but also discount it for the whole situation with covid, lockdowns, closures etc. Weāre living in an extraordinary time, where things that are supposed to work like a clock just donāt. I think itās a matter of adjusting your expectations not to get too dissappointed, at least it works for me
Hi rj2002cc
May I ask how your ARI portal page looked like when you received your preliminary approval? Does it say āAguarda Envioā with a Qr code next to it, and a Save button?
Today, my ARI portal changed from āAwaiting analysisā to āAguarda Envioā or
Awaiting Shipping" ( or it can also mean āAwaiting Submissionā in English). No idea what this āshippingā means. It seems it reverted to the initial stage or submission stage. Does anyone know?
Hi mmtravelguy
May I ask how your ARI portal page looked like when you received your preliminary approval? Does it say āAguarda Envioā with a Qr code next to it, and a Save button?
Today, my ARI portal changed from āAwaiting analysisā to āAguarda Envioā or
Awaiting Shipping" ( or it can also mean āAwaiting Submissionā in English). No idea what this āshippingā means. It seems it reverted to the initial stage or submission stage. Does anyone know?
It should read āapplication acceptedā as I understand.