Visas for Portugal: types and requirements

If you want to stay in Portugal for more than 90 days, it helps to understand how the Consular Portal organises national visas before you choose an application. This guide explains what each category asks for, how to apply, what it costs and how quickly a decision is due. It does not replace the document list of the consulate that serves your country, which may ask for more than is described here.

Who needs a visa

According to the Consular Portal, all third-country nationals who intend to stay for more than 90 days need a long-stay visa. Citizens of the European Union, the European Economic Area or a country with a free-movement agreement, and their family members, are exempt. The Portuguese Embassy in Brasília says, for example, that Brazilian citizens do not need a visa for visits of up to 90 days. That lets you enter as a tourist; it does not give you the right to reside. The route that allowed people to apply for residence after such an entry, the manifestação de interesse, ended in June 2024 with Decree-Law no. 37-A/2024, and Law no. 61/2025 did not reopen that route.

The two main national visas

The Consular Portal distinguishes:

• Temporary stay visa. For stays in Portugal of less than one year. It is valid for the length of the stay and for multiple entries.
• Residence visa (visa to obtain a residence permit). Valid for four months, with two entries. Within that period the holder must apply to AIMA for the residence permit. This is the visa that opens the way to residence.

There is also the qualified job-seeker visa, described below, and the special regimes. CPLP mobility is explained in the CPLP guide; the Consular Portal page on it does not include a document list.

Residence visa categories

The Consular Portal groups residence visas by purpose. The requirements for each group, as the supporting-documents page summarises them:

• Employment. An employment contract, a promise of a contract or an individualised expression of interest from the employer. If the profession is regulated in Portugal, proof of the qualification is added.
• Self-employment. A company contract or a written service contract, in the case of liberal professions.
• Immigrant entrepreneur. A declaration of an investment operation (nature, value and duration) and proof of the investment already made or of funds available in Portugal. The Startup Visa asks for an IAPMEI declaration about the contract with a certified incubator.
• Highly qualified activity. An employment contract of at least six months, with annual pay of at least 1.5 times the average gross annual national wage or three times the IAS; for the listed professions, 1.2 times or twice the IAS. Proof of qualifications is also required.
• Study. For higher education, proof of admission and of the means to attend the course. The Studying in Portugal guide goes deeper on the academic route.
• Research. A hosting agreement with a research centre or higher-education institution, or admission with a grant.
• Retirees (at the Goa consulate, the D7 visa). A document showing the amount of the pension and proof that it is received, or of other income available in Portugal.
• Own income (the D7 visa, at the same consulate). Proof of income from property, intellectual property or financial investments, and that it is available in Portugal.
• Remote work (digital nomad). A contract or declaration from the employer or, for the self-employed, a service contract or documents proving the services. Average monthly income over the last three months must be at least four guaranteed minimum monthly wages, and you must prove tax residence.
• Family reunification. Starts from prior approval by AIMA, and the visa application must be submitted within 90 days. See the family reunification guide.

Some posts use codes for these categories. The Portuguese Consulate-General in Goa, for example, calls the residence visa for retirees, people living on their own income and religious activity the D7 visa. The codes are not uniform: at the same post, “D8” means family members accompanying a residence visa applicant. When you speak to a consulate, give the purpose of the visa as well as the letter.

Means of subsistence

The Consular Portal refers the amount to a ministerial ordinance (portaria). AIMA explains that the reference value is the guaranteed minimum monthly wage, set at €920 for 2026 by Decree-Law no. 139/2025, in force since 1 January 2026. For family reunification, AIMA applies 100% to the first adult, 50% to the second adult and 30% to each child under 18 or dependent child. AIMA gives those percentages only for reunification; for other visas, check the amount and how to prove it with the consulate. For remote work the test is four minimum wages: 4 × €920 gives €3,680 a month in 2026.

Qualified job-seeker visa

Article 57.º-A of the Foreigners Law, as worded by Law no. 61/2025, covers this visa, which replaced the old job-seeker visa. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release of 22 October 2025 explains that, since 23 October 2025, Portuguese consular posts and visa application centres (VFS Global, BLS International and TLScontact) do not accept job-seeker visa applications and that appointments were cancelled. Until the ordinance defining the skills is published, this visa cannot be requested. What the law provides for it:

• It can be granted to someone with specialised technical skills, defined by a government ordinance, and allows entry to and stay in Portugal to look for work.
• It includes an appointment date with the services that grant residence permits, within 120 days. Someone who starts work in that period can apply for a residence permit if they meet the general conditions.
• If the maximum period ends without the person having started work, the holder must leave the country and can only apply for a new visa for this purpose one year after the previous one expires.
• The law requires a transport ticket that ensures the person’s return.

Before you prepare a file, check on the Consular Portal or with the consulate whether applications are available.

Where and how to apply

The competent post depends on the applicant’s nationality or residence, where different from nationality. The “where to apply” page lists, country by country, the embassy or consulate and, in many cases, the VFS centre. There is also an online application portal (e-Visa) that the Consular Portal links to. In Brazil, the embassy says applicants book an in-person appointment at VFS Global centres. In Cabo Verde, VFS takes applications of almost all categories; family reunification, medical evacuations and higher-education study visas under Portaria no. 111/2019 stay with the Embassy in Praia.

Documents common to all residence visas, according to the Consular Portal:

1. A signed form and two identical passport-style photographs.
2. A passport valid for 3 months beyond the planned stay.
3. Proof of regular status, if your nationality differs from the country where you apply.
4. Travel insurance covering medical expenses and repatriation (it can be waived under bilateral agreements, such as the one with Brazil).
5. A criminal record certificate from your country of origin or from any country where you lived for more than a year, with an apostille or legalisation. The documents guides for Angola, Cabo Verde and Brazil explain each case.
6. Proof of means of subsistence.

For minors who do not travel with both parents, or who travel with a third person, you need a travel authorisation from the parent they are not travelling with, or from both, with a recognised and legalised signature, or a court decision where applicable. Copies of the parents’ identity documents are also added.

Costs and deadlines

The fee for the administrative handling of a national visa application is €110, with exemptions, for example for children up to 6. Administrative appeals carry a €75 fee, except those relating to family reunification. The decision deadlines the Consular Portal gives are 60 days for a residence visa (subject to legal exceptions), and 30 days for temporary stay.

After the visa: the residence permit

With the residence visa you arrive in Portugal and apply to AIMA for the permit within the four months. For the grant, the general rule in article 82.º, no. 5, as worded by Law no. 62/2026, is 90 days, extendable by 30 in exceptional, justified circumstances, without prejudice to other legal deadlines; family reunification has its own deadline. The AIMA: residence permit guide describes the appointment.

If something goes wrong

• Visa refused: the Consular Portal provides for an administrative appeal, with a €75 fee. Article 52.º, no. 10 of the Foreigners Law provides for refusal of the visa to someone who entered or stayed unlawfully in national territory, in the cases of article 144.º, no. 1.
• Missing document: ask the post for the up-to-date list before you book.
• Questions about your case: the Path assistant and the message templates help you prepare the contact; the glossary explains terms such as apostille and residence permit.