But do you have to hang onto the investment until citizenship? Canāt you get rid of the investment once you have the PR? Or you have to hang onto it to keep the PR?
It seems unlikely that you would have to go back in for 500 if your investment went to 0. You applied under the 350 regime. You need to maintain your investment. I donāt know, obviously, but you are allowed to change your investment from one fund to another, I would tend to think that you could simply get another 350 investment to replace the first one.
Itās not a crazy scenario. Many funds I looked at have 5 year terms but continue for 7 years to wind up. After 7 years I assume they liquidate your investment unless the MR is changed. I suppose you could invest in a new 350k fund but worst case SEF considers it a new investment requiring 500k . And consider that many funds close so you may have to tie up 350k for another 7 years ā¦ who knows
Yeah, I guess itās just āwhich funds did I look atā. I see some of them do legally run out after 7 years. The ones Iām in run 10 and 15 years - they arenāt GV-focused per se, and I expect that itās really the GV holders who are the ones expected to leave early, not the non-GV ones, so if the GV ones need to hold on longer, they arenāt going to care much. Frankly, if the investments work and I donāt have Some Shockingly Better Use For The Money, Iām likely to just leave the money in anyway - the longer I punt, the longer I put off cap gains. So I was being a little glib and I apologize.
In your case you might want to start having that conversation now, just to prep them into thinking about it since clearly you are not going to be the only investor having the concern. Iām sure something can be done. They can probably do something with a vote of unitholders to modify the MR to extend, or do a short-term continuation fund, even if the continuation fund or strategy just sits in cash or bonds. (Continuation funds are pretty normal. Consider the Explorer series - I, II, III, IV. The first one runs out, they set up a new fund on the same terms, the investors simply decide to roll forward and the fund shares get swapped out at the bank. Thereās a tax consequence but from SEFās point of view it should count just fine as continuity of investment - itās not like you chose to divest, you didnāt sell, no money left the country, you just rolled an existing investment forward.) No itās not ideal but itās way better than starting all over. They can think about it now, have a strategy, communicate it to the unitholders, and then everyone can relax and not fret about it.
Thatās great advice. And honestly this all might be a moot point if biometric appts start moving, but I am not so sure.
The other option is that I have seen some talk of some ETF or exchange based funds some people are considering, i dont recall the names. One could just throw some money in those for 1-2 years and then pull out immediately when the PERM or citizenship is obtained, as long as those funds meet the requirements for GV.
Same here. I got pre-approval in June 2020.
I have got the biometric appointment in Sept 2021 which makes me feel very lucky.
But now, another problem rises up.
I do need the Schengen visa to enter Portugal just like you. However due to Covid, Portugal Embassy in my home country is currently close. They do not issue Schengen Visa anymore. Then, they forwarded my case to the Portuguese Embassy of the neighbor country.
However the border between my country and the neighbor is shut down, there is no flight to go there. Even if I go by boat or car, I still have to take 14 days quarantine. So now I am completely stuck in the mud and it seems no solutionā¦
Really have no clue how I am going to get into Portugal by Sept 2021 for my biometric.
Just a little finger print seems to be a deciding factor of the whole investmentā¦
Kind of asinine, but can you get a visa to Spain, then just drive across the border? Youāre required to declare within 3 days of entry into Portugal if youāre staying there, but if you pop across the border for just one day, that seems like itās legal under a Schengen visa. Ok thatās subject to whether the PT/ES border is open or not.
I know that Portugal eventually made changes to drain the backlog after a legendary meltdown in 2017. Iām hoping that theyāll see the light soon, and cure this situation too.
By analogy, the US State Department is finally starting to whittle down the 3+ month apostille backlog that made it literally impossible for months to satisfy the criminal background check requirement.
My lawyer got the appointment end of April.
How did he do it ? I do not know and I did not ask, i guess just a normal method i.e. checking the online Sef portal several times per day and keep praying. My lawyer also mentioned about luck because other GV clients of him still could not have the biometric.
Were these cancellations ? I do not understand your question very well. I am not going to cancel my biometric until the last minute. The Portugal Embassy in my country might get back to work in end of this month or August, then it will solve my problemā¦
Thanks ā yeah based on everyoneās reported situations seems like you have more luck ā hope your embassy situation works out!!!
(By cancellationsā it seems like some people do cancel these appointments, and yes often last minute which makes it impossible for most of us to take and fly to PT so quicklyā¦ Sounds like yours might be a regular slot; which puzzles me why that opens up just for Aprilā¦)
I have asked this a few different ways and still have no answer. The lawyers are somewhat defensive about the process and delays.
I can only make assumptions and guesses based on what I know and hear:
COVID is a huge problem in Portugal currently so appointments are probably spaced out more. Also, my guess is that demand is up from previous years but capacity is down due to COVID and restructuring. Thats a bad combination.
D7 applications seem to be taking priority over GV applications. I say this because I hear of many D7 applicants getting appointments but very few GV applicants.
The lawyers probably donāt have much say with SEF as evidenced by the delays and lack of communication. This actually weighs in favor of doing the GV application yourself rather than using a lawyer.
In short, no one knows but at the earliest I would expect appointments to open in November. That doesnt mean you will get oneā¦ you probably wonāt. There are hundreds if not thousands of people backlogged.
Some of the problem is the law firms and immigration firms are still advertising that you can get the GV in 3-6 months. They know its false but they dont care.
What can you do? Nothing else keep complaining to your lawyer/GV company. They need to get pressure before they will do something to put pressure on the government to act. There is a video up the thread where this same thing happened a few years ago. Keep in mind also that some lawyers dont get paid until you get your GV so they do have some incentive.
The recent news about SEF labor issues (transferring the policing function of SEF to other Portuguese law enforcement agencies) is probably not helping the situation either.
That is a discouragingly candid look at this frustrating state of affairs. I cheer the protesters for raising the visibility of this issue.
With SEF being dissolved, and with the government not seeming to be very transparent about its motivations and plans to resolve this issue, it seems like we may be in for a long ride.
I wonder which law firms are responsible for sucking up all of the appointments. I have a very good idea how theyāre doing it, and I know how it could be stopped in about one hourās work for an average hobbyist-coder, or a day or two if a heavyweight software engineering release process is in place.
Investors, who on average bring 500K EUR into the country deserve to be facilitated better. I am personally extremely disappointed with the lack of flexibility Portuguese government has shown during the pandemic.
