Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Eles mostraram aptidão; não obstante, não foram admitidos nesta fase. - They showed aptitude; nevertheless, they were not admitted in this phase.

Não obstante only triggers the subjunctive when it acts as a subordinating conjunction meaning "even though" (sometimes as não obstante que). In this sentence, it is used as an independent adverbial connector meaning "nevertheless". Because it simply bridges two independent clauses rather than subordinating one, the verb remains in the indicative mood.

Is não obstante common in everyday spoken Portuguese?

It is quite formal and is mostly used in writing, such as news articles, academic texts, or official reports. If you were speaking casually with friends, you would be much more likely to use no entanto or mesmo assim to express "nevertheless" or "even so".

Why is the verb phrase foram admitidos rather than estavam admitidos?

This is the passive voice describing a completed past action (the event of not being admitted). To express an action that was done to the subject, Portuguese uses the verb ser (here as foram) plus the past participle. If you used estavam (from estar), it would describe a continuous state rather than the specific event of rejection. Notice that admitidos ends in -os to agree with the masculine plural subject, eles.

Why is there a semicolon before não obstante?