D8/DR Visa processing time in India

I was wondering if anyone else has applied for D8/DR Visa from the New Delhi embassy in India.

I submitted mine about 40 days ago.


The VFS website says processing time for D visas is 60 days but based on other information I found online for D7 visas, it seems to be much longer.

There are people who applied for the D7 from New Delhi last year and for many it took almost 8 months to over a year.


Would this also be the expected time for the D8?

Can anything be done to expedite processing like filing a Mandamus in a court in Portugal? (Most Anglo countries have this as part of the law)


It also looks like the Embassy only forwards the application to SEF and it is SEF in Portugal that processes it. If this is indeed the case then I wonder why there's such a big delay at the New Delhi embassy.


Any Insight would be appreciated.


Thanks

Hi Zurtle,


I understand your questions. But you should question these delays with your embassy. As a rule, the deadline for replying to a visa application is 60 days. But there may be different rules for managing, analysing and controlling the number of visa applications that originate from a country. It's likely that there are specific policies and procedures that can delay these responses.

@JohnnyPT



The embassy hasn't responded to a single email or phone call within the last 4 months.

The only time I got a response was back in 2022.


There is no one to talk to. Just look at their Google reviews and it looks like no one has ever gotten a response recently.

Try a complaint here by filling this form:

https://portaldiplomatico.mne.gov.pt/en … complaints


Mne.gov.pt = PT Ministry of Foreign Affairs website

Yes, Did that a while ago, doesn't seem to have helped.

But it looks like their mailbox either gets full or they are overwhelmed with emails and can't respond.


Phone has never gone through even once.

Applied for D7 visa in New Delhi in March end, got the visa in mid-May. No follow ups required, VFS just sent an SMS one fine day and got the passport the next day. SEF appointment was for end of July, got the resident card in end of Aug. Pretty smooth process.


But have heard horror stories. A friend applied in Nov'21, only got the visa in Oct'22, with SEF appointment in March end. Got the resident card after three months in June end.

Try calling their landline at start of the day, sometimes by chance it connects.

@port22


Thanks for the info. I managed to get an email response from the embassy. They said it would be processed within the legal deadline so hopefully end of September for me.


The extreme variance and wide timelines I've heard from people makes me nervous is all.

I have just read the above conversation and getting nervous to know that the decision of D7 from Portugal's  Embassy New Delhi ,India is too long from the  embassy .I had applied D7 on mid sep 2023 ,Still the status not received and getting nervous to think that it can be long upto 1 year . Also there is no response of email and calls as I tried from so many days to Embassy of Portugal New Delhi . Taking a long decision is a questionable matter, but is it right to hold on to a passport for so long?


    I have just read the above conversation and getting nervous to know that the decision of D7 from Portugal's  Embassy New Delhi ,India is too long from the  embassy .I had applied D7 on mid sep 2023 ,Still the status not received and getting nervous to think that it can be long upto 1 year . Also there is no response of email and calls as I tried from so many days to Embassy of Portugal New Delhi . Taking a long decision is a questionable matter, but is it right to hold on to a passport for so long?
   

    -@h9654004745


The deadline to finalize the decision and communicate it to you is officially 60 days (maximum). Maybe they have some backlog but that's weird.


Mine even from Africa took exactly 30 days. You should probably follow-up with your embassy, I would go there in person and lodge a complain physically as to why they're holding on to it and it's gonna take almost forever. It's unfair if it's not backlog, I am afraid.

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 96#5837430


replied here.