We have received the following update regarding documentation for UK nationals in Portugal

As you will all be aware, 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. We understand the majority of those registered on the portal have now booked or attended an appointment. However, SEF have informed us that there are still some UK nationals who have not responded to the email invitations, or who have not attended on the day. We are grateful for all you have already done to encourage people to take action (and to flag issues to us), and we would appreciate your ongoing assistance in trying to reach those who are yet to engage with the process. From what SEF tell us, appointment availability now appears to be very good across the country, and it is not too late for UK nationals to register on the portal if they haven’t done so already.

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 23 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. Please do keep feedback coming from those who have tried to register family members to help inform this ongoing engagement.

Finally, we are also aware 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 that we also continue to urgently raise this issue with SEF and the wider Portuguese administration to encourage them to open a registration process for this cohort as soon as possible. As and when SEF provide further information for family members, we will amplify this on our channels.