D7 Visa Evaluation Period

maeren69 Member

Member since 13 February 2024

maeren69Member05 March 2024 15:51:43

Hi,

I applied for D7 visa through Portuguese Embassy in Ankara in August 2023. 7 months passed, and still there is no reply. I know some people who applied 2 months after me, and got their visa 2 months ago.

Reading different forums on the internet, I see that there are people who got their application accepted after 5+ months, got rejected after 10 months, etc.

If you have similar experience (i.e. visa approval/rejection after a very long evaluation period), I would be glad if you could share your experience (evaluation time, and result) here. Also, why do you think there is such a huge difference in evaluation times for applications made at the same time, at the same embassy?

TGCampo Serial expat

Member since 30 August 2023

TGCampoSerial expat06 March 2024 06:54:54

257

Sadly so, it is my impression that the Portuguese administration (not only the body responsible for visa) is completely random. Your current situation might be a good lesson for what to expect in your dealings with the administration once you settle in Portugal.

And yes, there might be reasons for this, but ...

As I know that some people are moving for retirement to Turkey, would you be able to tell us how the process is with the Turkish administration? Are they faster and more predictable?

JohnnyPT Portugal Expert

Member since 23 May 2020

JohnnyPTPortugal Expert06 March 2024 08:09:31

4829

@maeren69,

We can't talk about randomness when it comes to the time it takes to grant visas. There can be reasons we don't know about, and each person is a case. We can find some reasons for this, which we can agree or disagree ...

maeren69 Member

Member since 13 February 2024

maeren69Member06 March 2024 08:46:05

@TGCampo I have no information about the procedures, but I can say that the bureaucratic processes in Turkey are much more predictable and faster.

maeren69 Member

Member since 13 February 2024

maeren69Member06 March 2024 08:47:51

@JohnnyPT I have read many instances of them even losing visa application papers, which is by nature, random. So, there is definitely some randomness.