Unilaterally Removed from Husbands Golden Visa Application

Tax and legal
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1

I need some help - I’m a Canadian who applied for the Golden Visa as a dependent, under my husband of 10 years. Since our initial application 2 years ago - application still pending - he has left me, and has taken it upon himself to no longer include me in the application - hasn’t submitted docs I thought he did - will not respond to me about anything Golden Visa related. We are not legally separated or divorced - I have given zero instruction to our Portuguese Lawyer around this - he has given zero instructions to me as to what my options are - he just informed me that I will “no longer qualify”. I need help finding another Portuguese Lawyer to help me with this -

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Someone else on this forum had a similiar situation a few months ago. I don’t think any resolution.

The primary must sign TOR for you to apply. If they don’t sign it, i dont see how you can be a dependent even though you technically qualify, seems impossible without the cooperation of the primary.

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Thanks for this response - sorry, what does TOR stand for? My understanding is that if, after initial application was made with me as a dependent, to change the application, I would need to consent to being removed, and he (and I) would have to re-apply. I have not given any consent to end my application proceedings

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If the application is still pending and have not passed the biometrics appointment stage, I do not see how a dependent can force their inclusion without the agreement of the primary (even if originally foreseen).
TOR = Terms of responsibility, signed by the primary and submitted at the bio appointment.

5

That doesn’t mean you can move forward, either.

There are plenty of references to lawyers here on NG. Some might give you a free consultation esp if it comes from a @tkrunning reference via NG link. That said, I will also say that I don’t think you have any recourse, and would save the money.

I’m sorry you are in this situation.

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Yes, unfortunately the dependents really have no status other than as the secondary participant of the primary applicant. If the primary applicant refuses to sign the documents, or presents proof of a divorce - or dies, for that matter - then everyone else on the application is in uncharted waters. If your husband is unwilling to participate or notifies AIMA of a divorce in the future, my understanding is that you won’t be able to receive or renew your residency card. I wish I had better news to report. This is why dependents applying for citizenship as soon as they’re eligible is so important (which I understand you’re not in a position to do).

You could speak with an immigration attorney in Portugal, but as was said above, do so with your eyes wide open that you might not get any favourable information.

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Really sorry you find yourself in this scenario.

My partner did bring this up during our initial discussions for GV application - what happens if we separate or the primary applicant expires. Unfortunately the only tongue-in-cheek response we got was that “Lets hope they don’t die”.

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Sorry to hear this. Presumably you can initiate divorce proceedings yourself … armed with a good lawyer of the jurisdiction in which you were married/you’re divorcing and who might also work with a Portuguese divorce lawyer due to the relevant cross-border issues. Instruct your lawyers to go after your full share of all ‘matrimonial assets’ - of which you include the GV investment, any pension assets, property assets, any other savings/investments, and potentially future income streams if you were his dependant and if there are dependent children. Explore the legal options of freezing assets until the divorce has been settled, to prevent them being moved, hidden etc. You may have to eventually re-start the GV process in your own right, if your financial situation permits you to do so independently post-divorce. Hope you can get good legal advice on all the avenues available to you.

New edit
Just editing this post with a few additional thoughts below, to potentially explore with your own independent Portuguese GV/immigration lawyer.

If there are sufficient funds/marital assets available -

  1. Start a new separate GV application with you as the primary applicant. Make a full GV investment and explore the option of being transferred from ‘dependent spouse’ of the original application to ‘primary applicant’ of the new application, most importantly seeing if this can be so that the time already achieved on the original application is credited to the new application.

  2. Same as above, you start a new GV process but make a 50% GV investment. Once the divorce is settled your 50% stake in the original GV investment - which is a joint marital asset to which you have an entitlement to your share - is transferred into your name in your new GV process, again with the aim of you also retaining and transferring the years you were a dependent spouse on the original application.

  3. Find out whether your new GV application can be ‘back dated’ to reflect the fact you have already been a GV applicant, albeit as a dependent spouse?

  4. Option 1, in combination perhaps with option 3, might be the most straightforward to execute. Once the divorce is settled you’d be paid back your 50% share of the original GV investment, or you might relinquish that share if you’ve in effect been paid an equivalent amount out of other marital assets.

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