appman999

Hi,
Just checking the papers required for our appointment and according to the Portuguese Visa website you need documentation regarding a criminal record from the country of origin (i.e UK) Did you produce anything like this?

Rambling archer

Surely this refers to what you were discussing in the other thread - National Temporary Stay Visa
https://www.acro.police.uk/Police-Certificates-Online - this?

appman999

It does but andywally doesn't appear to subscribe to the other thread and doesn't mention any criminal check documents in his appointment above.

Also I have found a reference elsewhere to using the DBS service which is half the price of the ARCO system which seemed to work.

Just gathering info from those who have been through the process (I have just booked my appointment)

Rambling archer

Eddie5425

Hi appman999
How did your appointment go at Vfs London? I'm asking because we spent about two minutes in there being told what we needed to bring next time after turning up with all the documents asked for. We are now struggling to get an appointment again with the website going Error 404 or no appointments. Research into Vfs does not fill me with confidence. Their Wikipedia page is particularly worrying and I do not read good things anywhere else either to the point I feel good reviews and feedback about them is false.

appman999

Our appointment is 9.15 tomorrow so fingers crossed.

I have emailed them several times with some queries over the last month but no response apart from the standard 'we have received your email replies'.

I refuse to hang on for hours on their premium rate phone line to find out exactly what they need but I have put together everything their website asked for.

I'm also unimpressed by them and since I booked the last slot of three appointments over a month ago, I have never seen any more appointments appear (now out to September I think)!

I'd be grateful if you could tell me ASAP what they said you should have brought but didn't so hopefully we can avoid that.

Eddie5425

Hi Appman good Luck,
We needed:
Application form. We had it
Proof of Portuguese bank account with £8000.00 each person partner and myself joint bank account. Now sorted but too late at the time.
Proof of residence or rental we bought a house last year We had no photo copy of the deeds just originals.
A letter from my partner saying I was going to live in her house. Its in her name. We will have a civil partnership next month( After 40 years) Portuguese law will not allow unmarried joint ownership.
Proof of investments,savings regular passive income again they need photo copies
Passport
2 x passport photos
Motivational letter: why you want to move there. We didn't have. We had no idea we needed one
Criminal records check valid it seems within the three months of application, We will have to renew if we get another an appointment after September
Travel insurance valid for one year at the time of application I had it but. I was advised to get a two month extension added. I was within the 28 day cooling off period so was able to cancel. I will attempt reinsure and to have it bang up to date as close to the appointment as possible when I can get one.
Six months bank statements.

Good luck.

I am so hacked off over Brexit I am going to fall out with friends who voted out.
Never known us not to be in the EU and the more I learn and read about Vfs Global see their Wikipedia page the less I like.
lets know how you get on.

Regards
Eddie

appman999

Hi Eddy,
Thanks for your quick response. Are you applying for the Residence Visa or the Temporary Stay Visa?

I can't do the £8000 in Portuguese bank for tomorrow.

I don't know what to put in a motivational letter other than I like staying in our house there in the winter?

I only have 3 months of bank statements so busily printing out more.

Otherwise we might be OK, I'll update you on my return tomorrow.

Eddie5425

Hi Appman,999,
Its the Long Stay Visa we are after.
My partner said it may be three months bank statements but the woman we talked to was very clear about the £8000 in the bank per person.
Your the same as us the motivation letter. We spent four days in Lisbon and fell in love with the place. How can you explain that.
Do I say come here and spend four days listening to Boris Johnson and Matt Handcock and you will know why I want to leave. Please give me asylum.

Best of Luck
Eddie

andywally

VFS website was a pain when we applied, it allows you to do a joint application but then fails to give you an appointment, finally sussed it and just applied individually and got an appointment 2 days later in Manchester, all VFS needed was passports, finger prints and they took a photo of us both individually, then sent us to the embassy in the centre of Manchester.
No appointment at the embassy just sit and wait.............everntually sits down with our case handler who required;
passports
3 months bank statements
DBS check
travel insurance (the GHIC card sufficed for this)
letter of invitation from the people in Portugal who where going to put us up whilst we decided where to finally settle
letter of 'intention' from both of us (individually)
birth certificates
marriage certificate

At that point he started the process for us in the UK, his instructions where to apply for an NIF when we got here (PT) then open a bank account, send him proof of both of these last 2 pieces, send the passports back to the UK (for him to then send them back to PT) and for him to stamp both passports with a visa for a further 120 days stay along with a guaranteed appointment with SEF in our area within that 120 days, to then provide them (SEF) with all of the above yet again and hope that they give us the 5 year visa.................as you can imagine lots of potential bumps in the road there............and so far after 3 weeks of being here very little progress has been made !!............but apparently that is how it is supposed to work.

Red Eric

You won't be getting a 5 year visa with this process.

It'll be a residence permit initially valid for 2 years, subsequently renewable for 3 years. After that, if you satisfy the criteria, you can apply for a long term residence permit.

Eddie5425

Hi andywally,
Thank you Thank you Thank you. It worked
Why did the woman we talked to in London and the one guy who replied to my emails from Vfs not suggest this.
Applying individually worked a treat. Ok we will have to hang around London for a bit but at least it will get done now and we will not be homeless at Christmas.

Thanks again

Eddie

andywally

Its a pleasure Eddie........its nice to be of some help to somebody .........it doesnt happen very often :-)

and Red Eric, you may well be right mate, but I was only quoting what our case handler (( in Manchester ) via e-mail) told me last week when I asked him to explain the process to me in more detail, he may or may not turn out to correct ........time will tell..............but from the conversations that we are having here (in PT) atm..........the SEF and the council still dont know who is handling these applications apparently, and the files are simply being passed from pillar to post, and I am not convinced that with the initial 90 days plus an additional 120 days that this will be resolved in time .............again time will tell eh :-) however the case handler does assure me that his additional 120 day visa stamp comes with a guaranteed SEF appt.................. no guarantee that they are going to stamp our passport's just a guarantee of an appt ....we shall see eh !

Red Eric

It was changed this year as part of an ongoing process of simplifying administrative procedures where possible. Prior to that, you'd have been subject to a 1 year permit, which you'd have had to renew thereafter at 2 year intervals (so 3 interactions with SEF in the first 5 years as opposed to the current 2).

I only mentioned it so you don't think your case has been mis-handled when you get your first permit and it's for 2 years and not the 5 you've been led to expect. I can't imagine why anybody at a PT consulate anywhere would be saying otherwise, given the published information on the matter, although I'll happily eat large dollops of humble pie if anybody has any evidence to the contrary.

Likewise, I can't see why the local Câmaras would be in any doubt as to who is handling applications for residence from UK nationals not already resident in PT prior to 1st Jan 2021. Personally, if I were in your shoes, I don't think I'd be chatting to them or to SEF about things until I had the requisite stamp / paperwork from the consulate back in the UK, which would presumably clear the matter up completely as far as they're concerned.













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appman999

I am getting confused with the advice here and it's probably my fault for posting about a Temporary Stay National Visa in a thread about a Residency Visa. The two are quite different and it's important to be specific. Long Stay visa is not a term that appears?

The types of Temporary Stay visa are shown below on the attached from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and we are seeking the one for Retired People living on their own income.

At our appointment today unfortunately according to VFS they do not issue that type and we must go to the Consulate.

Having phoned the Consulate they confirm that they have subcontracted ALL visa applications to VFS. Currently back emailing the Consulate to clarify.

In future I'll restrict my posting about this to my 'National Temporary Stay Visa' thread.