Over the last few months the Portuguese administration has made significant progress in rolling out appointments so UK nationals, who are registered on SEF’s Brexit Portal, can obtain a biometric WA residence card.
The majority of those registered on the portal have now booked or attended an appointment. However, SEF have informed the British Embassy that there are still some UK nationals who have not responded to the email invitations, or who have not attended their appointment on the day.
SEF confirm that appointment availability now appears to be very good across the country, and it is not too late for UK nationals to register to obtain a biometric residence card on the SEF portal, if they haven’t done so already.
The British Embassy say, "Despite the progress made, we know there are some important outstanding issues still to be resolved, the main one being a process for family members to obtain a WA residence document. The good news is that last week SEF opened a process for family members who previously held an EU residence document – see their announcement from 23rd January on facebook here. Although SEF have confirmed that some UK nationals have already managed to add their family members to their account on the portal, we know others have had difficulty. SEF have also not yet published any guidance on the process. We continue to engage with SEF to encourage them to do so and to raise the issues being reported to us. "
The British Embassy are also aware that there are family members who did not previously have an EU residence certificate and who currently do not have any residence documentation. Please be assured they will continue to urgently raise this issue with SEF and the wider Portuguese administration, to encourage them to open a registration process for those affected as soon as possible.
As and when SEF provide further information for family members, we will publish details.
