Sef appointment for d7 visa

Hello, my d7 visa got approved and now i have it printed on my passport. I just realized that the automatic sef appointment was set after my visa gets expired. Expiration date is on November while sef appointment is on December.
I am trying to call sef since 2 weeks without any luck. Their lines are always occupied or out of service. The answering machine made me wait for 16 mins before i disappointly hung up the phone.
Any info on what's happening with sef and is there any hack or alternative to book an appointment rather than calling by phone?
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@Dany Baydoun Dont worry. I just had my D7 SEF appointment at end of June and my 4 month D7 Visa stamped in the passport expired in early May. They are behind on appointments. It was never mentioned at my SEF appointment at all. I am sure you do not need to worry.

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@Dany Baydoun don't worry. If you have the date the expiry doesn't matter. We just finished our residency appointment and took 30 min. For two people! They just want to make sure you didn't lie and they check your rental and finances. Easy

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Thank you for getting back to me, its a relief to hear from you but the thing is that i need to know what's the next step. Should i travel to portugal before the visa expiry date (nov22) approaches and then i stay there illegally till dec22? What have you done to pick another appointment?
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@Dany Baydoun
Yes you have to travel before the visa expiry date. As SEF already know  that you have appointment in December. So this is not illegal.
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It's not a problem if your visa travel will be expired before your SEF appointment. You are in the system.

Insist on the SEF contacts and send them an email, to serve as proof.
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@JohnnyPT
I sent them an email asking them how to pick a different appointment and they suggested I contact them over the phone but no luck with the phones at all.
Since my visa expires in September, I am planning to travel at end of august. But i was thinking of a case scenario where  they find out that my visa has expired, will it be a problem for me? Or you think that if i show them my appointment, then this is a proof of why i am staying?
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Hi Dany,
Unfortunately can't help you any further. I think @neale_p's reply is helpful and clarifying
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Dany - The passport check at Faro airport when I arrived in May, two weeks after the date my D7 visa had expired, did not seem to concern the SEF employee, who dutifully stamped my passport with the entry date stamp. I doubt he even flicked through the passport to see if there was a D7 Visa. To him, i guess i was just another Brit arriving on holiday. I think you will be OK.
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Don't forget that Dany is Lebanese, procedures may be different
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Good point JohnnyPT
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@JohnnyPT 100%, procedures might be different for us. Definitely, i am coming 1 month before the expiry date just to be on the safe side.
Thank you so much for your response.
Is there any post for  the requirements of the sef appointment?
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If you can't reschedule earlier, keep all the emails you have with SEF.
Cheers :)


What to expect at your first portuguese D7 residency Visa appointment in the SEF office:
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@JohnnyPT

You are life saver buddy! Cheers
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Hey @JohnnyPT, revisiting this post again to ask if i visit portugal 15 days before the 4 months d7 visa expires, do they still welcome me? Or it might create problems for me?
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Hi Dany,
I don't think there is any problem. But I think you should check it with the Portuguese consulate where you applied for your visa. It might be useful to have an Airbnb or hotel reservation with you when you get here.
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@neale_p Hi there Neale, I was wondering, with the SEF appointment ( Mine is 14  October in Lisbon) Will the 1-year Travel Medical insurance I have, be accepted by SEF? I used this for my initial VFS Global visa.

It's with Inserte ,  Mutuaide .

Insurance Plan: Universal Annual
Main Guarantees
24/7 Travel Assistance - Medical expenses (outside the country of residence) up to €100,000 (Epidemic &
Pandemic included) - Medical Repatriation (Death + Epidemic & Pandemic included) up to actual costs (funeral
expenses up to €2000) - Hotel expenses following Quarantine in the event of an Epidemic & Pandemic (Expenses of hotel
€150 per night / Max 14 nights per person) - Sports (Search and Rescue Costs) - Legal Assistance Abroad.
Deductible €30

Or do I have to get a local Portuguese Medical Health insurance?
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@JohnnyPT Hi there :)

I was wondering, with the SEF appointment ( Mine is 14  October in Lisbon) Will the 1-year Travel Medical insurance I have, be accepted by SEF? I used this for my initial VFS Global visa.

It's with Inserte ,  Mutuaide .
Insurance Plan: Universal Annual
Main Guarantees
24/7 Travel Assistance - Medical expenses (outside the country of residence) up to €100,000 (Epidemic &
Pandemic included) - Medical Repatriation (Death + Epidemic & Pandemic included) up to actual costs (funeral
expenses up to €2000) - Hotel expenses following Quarantine in the event of an Epidemic & Pandemic (Expenses of hotel
€150 per night / Max 14 nights per person) - Sports (Search and Rescue Costs) - Legal Assistance Abroad.
Deductible €30
Or do I have to get a local Portuguese Medical Health insurance?
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Hi Brian.
I went in with everything !
I had my annual travel insurance policy, with full medical cover
I had a private Portuguese medical policy, which now costs me 65 Euros per month
and
I registered myself with the National Health service too, so I have a Utente number.

and guess what ????

The SEF lady in Albufeira who processed my residency did not ask to see any of it ! I ticked the box on the form stating I had medical cover, but She was only interesting in taking copies of my passport and my rental agreement. Thats was all.

Not sure how officious the Lisbon SEF will be, compared to my experience though.
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@neale_p I'm so nervous something is missing for my appointment. My rental contract is a copy of a signed 3-page document. That's all that is needed? The landlord doesn't have to register my stay with any authorities? I asked him and he said the contract is fine, I must just take that to my appointment. Didn't get anything else from him.

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Hi Brian,

The SEF lady asked me initially for a utility bill in my name (gas, electric, water, broadband, mobile phone contract). I did not have any of these. I only had the rental agreement, which She accepted.

So I suspect if you have a utility bill in your name, you will be ok

Neale
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@Dany Baydoun
We are also trying to get an appt with SEF. I call everyday just like they told me and yes its always busy. We still have 3 months before our D7 expires. But from previous posts on this forum I believe I might get thru at the start of August or September.
I had a lawyer tell me that if you have been trying and not getting thru, then its their fault and not to worry; they won't deport you. But I would not want to leave the country without the residence permit and with an expired D7.
I hope someone else answers this and tells us some better news. But I'm not hopeful. What is annoying is that they gave us 877 numbers to call which is difficult for us from Portugal. But I emailed them and they sent me a standard response but with the local numbers ( +351 217115000) (+351 965903700). Sometimes I just get a busy signal , sometimes I get a recording and sometimes the recording is in only Portuguese and sometimes also in English- but in all cases I end up with a busy signal. It seems to depend upon the time of day. Their instructions in the US said they were open 9 - 5 pm. But the email says they are open 8 am till 8 pm. So I might try after 5 pm.
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Hi Brian_SA, Welcome.

Please read this:

4. Check out rental receipts are being issued by the landlord
(Post #12)

Evidences to be presented when applying for a visa (from UK, South Africa, USA, Canada,...)
(Posts #8, #9, #.......)

Best Regards
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We are also needing to get our2 year residency with a D7.
I was so fed uo with the busy signals on SEF that I didn't listen to the recorded messages fully. One day  I did and it said check the SEF web site ( www.sef.pt). When we put in our D7 visa numbers low & behold it turned out we had appointments set up for August. Then my husband noticed there is a link on the D7 in very tiny writing. When you type in the link it tells you the appointment date/time. In other words it appears they preset the appointment when you get the D7. The writing is so small it's easy to miss.
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Yes, the webaite shows that i habe an appointment by my main concern is that the date is after my visa gets expired.
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I have my D7 Visa now and I have been given an SEF appointment however I will be living in Lisbon at the SEF appointment is in Porto is it easy to change appointments and if so how do you get in touch with them because it seems from above they don't answer emails or telephone calls.
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@smfagan300
yes correct
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@Dany Baydoun
To get to SEF through their hotline, you need to wait... patiently. Based on my experience it is at least 20 to 30 mins. But if you already have a SEF appointment given to you, then all you need to do is to bring along the necessary documents on your appointment date e.g. accommodation (purchased deed or rental) , local health insurance (Medis, Allianz, etc) local bank statements, NIF, etc. All the best.
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Wat do you mean by local health insurance? I did a travel insurance only, should i issue a health insurance as well once i am in Portugal?
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@neale_p hello may you please help me i have my SEF appointment on 13 September and im arriving on 10th
im stugeeling to have rental agreement to cover me during my appointment can you suggest me what to do please
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We just had our residency "interview" in Funchal Madeira. We had the D7 from Washington embassy.
We took every piece of paper we could find ( lease, travel insurance etc). She didn't ask for any of it. Just the passports and NIF numbers. It took about 40 mins for both me & my husband. The web site implies you need photos- not true. They took the photos, fingerprints and a signature shot. We had already filled out the forms so that saved time. Anyway it was all very easy and the agent was very nice. I asked her " how do we get an appointment in 2 years?" She said " Who knows- anything could happen in 2 years". I think she is referring to the fact that SEF is supposed to be disbanded.  I guess we'll find out in 2 years!
To respond to the last post, we could not get past VFS global in Washington without a lease agreements ( 6 months). Fortunately we had a contact here who was leaving her apartment and put us in touch with her landlord. I can only suggest Idealista web site. You may have to sign up for a year. Good luck!
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please i need anyone help to have lease agreement before i travel

for VFS i had one prepared by the agent who was handling our case but they said this not accepted at sef
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Dany - you only need the travel/health insurance that you needed for the D7. There is a link to it on either the embassy web site or VFS global site - I can't remember which. Ours was 1000 euros for 2 of us for 1 year ( much cheaper than anything in the US!). And they didn't ask to see it at the residency interview.
By the way the SEF agent here who processed our residency ( 2 years temporary) did ask if we had an ELF number which seems to be some kind of public system. We said no.
By the way she didn't even look at the dates on the D7, she just asked us when we entered the country. I wouldn't worry about the dates. Of course I can only speak for Madeira and its pretty laid back here. Lisbon could be different I guess but I doubt it.
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@neale_p hello may you please help me i have my SEF appointment on 13 September and im arriving on 10th
im stugeeling to have rental agreement to cover me during my appointment can you suggest me what to do please
- @Michael-Diana De

Hi @Michael & Diana, Welcome.

Renting Management Companies (Short/Long-Term Rentals)


  Real Estate Website Portals, post #4

Large Real Estate Companies Websites, post #7

Best Regards
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Can SEF appointment be brought closer?


If the SEF appointment date is for next year April, how can one do the reunification?

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@Handkerchief

Use the thread you have already opened on this subject:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 22#5502504


FOR LIVING IN PORTUGAL AND FAMILY REUNIFICATION

https://imigrante.sef.pt/en/solicitar/residir/

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What if I missed the SEF appt. in Portugal that was given to me when I received the D7 visa? As someone else said, the link to the appt was in a tiny font. I arrived in Portugal 1/1/22. If I can get an appt. soon, will it be ok that  I didn't show up for the first one?

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@Dany Baydoun https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/20 … ards/71629

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@John2020md I'm not British I'm American.

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You are probably going to have complications. The reason is that that first in-country appointment is not changeable in the system. I know because I have one. The system states it cannot be changed. When I received my passport from the Consulate with the entry visa inside, they gave me a printout of the appointment details as well. Did you not get this?


Once your entry visa expires, you are "out of status". My understanding is that you can be out of status without problems from the time that the entry visa expires and your in-country interview, and then while you wait for your residence card. I do not know what the problem status will be if you miss the interview and still remain in the country.

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