Sunseeker1st

No, I was not referring to your post.

EU.flag

Can you please share with us source of your information "it will be at SEF Office"?

Delay is due to staff shortage and need to setup new computer access system at Camara's for WA registrations.
SEF offices have all they need, so if process was to be at SEF, it would have started long time ago.

Alan PT

Ah, sorry, I get your point now

Sunseeker1st

I may be incorrect ... so I apologise. I hope it is the Camara rather than the SEF Office.
https://brexit.sef.pt/en/guia/

bons

Do we wait for SEF to contact us?

Alan PT

Well, you are on the right thread now. Reading it would also be good...

If you have applied (via the link in post #3) then YES, as pointed out in posts #117 and #118

J00ls

It would seem that we are in a holding pattern while SEF deal with new American residents. There are posts on the American FB sites of appointments been given and residency cards being issued to American visa holders. So SEF are actually doing something - just not for us!

Alan PT

"Stuff people post on Facebook" is perhaps not always the most reliable data source

But if SEF did choose to prioritise residency applications for people who currently only have a short term visa, then I wouldn't blame them

CamemBert

As if SEF, and everyone else didn’t know that there will always be a steady stream of people with short-term visas needing residency permits. Just like in other EU states, which have all somehow managed to process the Brexit cards as well. I love Portugal, but seriously, here they are taking the proverbial.

J00ls

Alan PT - Well its clearly more than just a few - and one of them was so thrilled that he posted a picture of his new card, complete with all the details. I don't know how to post pictures on here but anyone wondering how this could be true should just take a look on the Americans & Friends PT Facebook page. It certainly doesn't fit with the line being spun up to now that suggests nothing is happening yet - it is - but just not for us. Perhaps its because the Americans are paying customers - I assume that the D7 visas don't come free.

Alan PT

Interesting, that does seem to suggest that the technology exists to produce the cards now, which feels like a good sign for us

The Americans presumably need something in order to be able to legally remain in the country. It could be a piece of paper, but if they have to go to SEF anyway then it's probably a good opportunity to test the system. This is how any sensible organisation does a tech rollout (I've done many)

We already have paperwork to legalise us (and there's a lot of us) so it makes sense that we would come further back in the queue, as part of a mass rollout (and including many more sites)

Would I like a card sooner - yes, of course. But getting enraged at SEF and feeling persecuted because someone else got theirs won't make it happen sooner, just stress me out. Just my view on the world

EU.flag

Always try to compare apples with apples.
D7 visa processing (card issue) at SEF has been in place for many many years, so it was only staffing issue to speed up queues. There is no special fast track processing for US nationals!

UK nationals under WA are completely in new setup/process that needs to be worked out for Camaras.
Therefore, US nationals experiences are of very little use for WA applicants. No point getting jealous that D7 applicants are getting their cards sooner.

Loafing Along

https://www.dn.pt/politica/morte-do-...-14238050.html

In the middle of it all confirmation that the SEF has been killed off and the new Agência para as Migrações e Asilo (APMA), will come into force.

J00ls

EU Flag - I was mainly fed up because the feed back from the UK authorities so far has suggested (to me anyway) that SEF are overwhelmed and therefore no one was getting lucky yet. So it did look pretty odd to me when I first saw the post and the picture of a new Residency card. I certainly didn't realise that they were organised enough to have different sections to deal with different countries. Thanks for the explanation and I can stop feeling jealous now that I can see its actually 'situation normal'! Back to carrying around the A4 paperwork then....

CamemBert

Situation normal, I don't think. However, the law dissolving SEF made it through parliament today. As a result, things will get either better or worse. My money would be on them getting better (not overnight, obviously) because I reckon the failure to produce the Brexit cards was SEF's bargaining chip, used in order to embarrass the government in the eyes of the EU.

We shall see.