SEF has announced today that all offices will be closed effective from March 30 and will reopen on July 1 due to health measures taken to prevent the COVID-19 outbreak. This also means appointments for golden visas to be suspended and will be assigned chronologically from July 1.
Portugal declared the date of the declaration of the State of National Emergency on March 18. on March 11, 2020, WHO announced COVID-19 as a pandemic.
This is the second time Portugal has suspended the golden visa program. In 2015, Portugal authorities suspended golden visas in July 2015 following a scandal involving high level government corruption.
The Order No. 3863-B / 2020 of 27 March also provides for the closure of all SEF branches, as of the same date, considering the need to reduce risks to public health associated with care, both at the level of SEF workers and users.
All visas and documents related to the stay of foreign citizens in national territory that expired after February 24, are valid until June 30.These documents, as well as the Citizen Card, Driving License, Criminal Record and Certificates, must be accepted by public authorities for all legal purposes.
The management of appointments will be carried out in such a way as to guarantee equal rights the rights of all foreign citizens with SEF, within the scope of COVID 19.
SEF will continue to provide in-person assistance only for requests considered urgent. That is, citizens who need to travel or who prove the urgent and urgent need to leave the national territory, for imponderable and unavoidable reasons and citizens who have been stolen, stolen or lost documents.
SEF will only accept urgent requests for passport services.
The preventive measures were taken considering the need to reduce the risks to public health associated with care, both at the level of SEF workers and at the users of these public services
The official SEF announcement is available here
