I learned that there has been a severe delay in case processing for Portugal’s Golden Visa program. I would like to know if there is a fast track, or if it is possible to apply for expedited processing for applications?
Unfortunately, an option for expedited processing of applications does not existing under the law and regulations that regulate the Golden Visa program. Applications are processed as per the moment they are submitted. In fact, due to the enormous amount of applications these are taking between six to eight months to get the residency title.
It is not possible to speed up the analysis of the Golden Visa process. Nevertheless, there are several immigration offices around the country where the applicants can submit their Golden Visa applications. Some of them are faster in analyzing the applications, as they do not have the amount of them as other immigration offices have.
In response to your question, Golden Visa applications have been processed faster, as they are presented on an online platform. In addition, the decentralization of the attendance at SEF stations has considerably speeded up the completion of the process. The estimate for the resident permit is three to six months after the request.
Based on our experience and considering the recent approvals, we suggest that the application should be submitted to a SEF delegation where the process is faster. When the applicant has urgency in approval of resident permit, we suggest that he or she should not submit the application to the Lisbon delegation, which is slower. The procedures for obtaining this type of visa are regulated in the law, and the immigration application should be approved in 3 months, however, the applications in Lisbon are taking 4 to 5 months to be processed. After the legal 3 months, it is necessary to be proactive and pressing SEF for approval. However, there is no fast track for urgent cases.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a fast-track for the Golden Visa process. The process is the same to all applicants. To try to reduce the impact of eventual delays, it is possible to book the appointment out of the Lisbon area, which is the area where the majority of delays have been occurring.
To be completely transparent, the Golden Visa program did face several setbacks because of corrupt officials. Those cases were detected, the people behind them were put on trial, and some of them still are facing trials. Consequently, the program was reformulated and the border patrol police (SEF) implemented a few more checks into the process. Another factor that delays the processes is the fact that SEF has few officials to handle the workload and evaluate applications. This is the negative aspect of the situation, but fortunately, it can be properly handled if you have the correct counsel. The procedure to have an expedited Golden Visa is to divert the application to an SEF office outside the main ones in Lisbon or Porto. With guidance, the timeline for Golden Visa applications can take five to six months.
The Portuguese Golden Visa program does not foresee the possibility of a fast-track, or the possibility of applying for expedited processing for applications. However, there are different timings of approval depending on the regional immigration office (SEF). So the recommendation is for the applicant to file his application in an office of the SEF that belongs to a region where the processing time is faster, since the law was recently amended to allow the applicant to choose any office of SEF in the country instead of being obliged to file the application in the area of investment. At this moment there are six offices: Lisbon, Faro, Porto, Coimbra, Madeira and Azores. Each has different timings of approval.
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