Establishing Residency in Portugal
Our mission is to offer relocation assistance to Portugal.
We have law partners and accountants for immigration, business creation for entrepreneurs, investment, real estate, and other areas. Our professional network includes bankers, insurance agents, and services for everyday life such as private Portuguese tutors.
Client intake for STANDARD and PREMIUM services begin with a consultation, booked into the calendar.
BUNDLES of multiple calls can be purchased at once, in their own calendar.
EU citizens, their family members, and others interested in ad hoc services can contact us directly for these services without booking into the consultation calendar.
PRE-ARRIVAL
Pre-arrival services include home searches, health-related research, arranging appointments, translations, shipping, pet importation, and other administrative matters.
Note: Fiscal Representation for the NIF is only offered by RTP as part of the Standard and Premium relocation services. It cannot be purchased separately. However, we can provide referrals for obtaining NIFs and opening bank accounts remotely.
POST-ARRIVAL
We assist with booking appointments and interpreters to public offices, medical appointments, real estate agencies, banks, and other places of business.
EUROPEAN CITIZENS
For European Union citizens relocating to Portugal, we provide assistance and interpreters with each government department, from residency certificates at the parish level to the CRUE (Certificate of Registration of an EU citizen) from the municipality.
Immigration Terminology
For residency purposes in Portugal, all nationalities are divided into three groups:
- First Country Nationals (Portuguese)
- Second Country Nationals (EU citizens)
- Third Country Nationals (the rest of the world)
Our clients are a mix of non-EU clients, EU clients, and the Portuguese diaspora.
NOTE: There are public policies which apply to everyone, regardless of nationality. For example, NHR (Non-Habitual Residency tax status).
Visa Information For Portugal
Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros / Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Types of residency visas (also called “long-stay visa” or “national visa”):
- Subordinate work activity
- Independent work activity or migrant entrepreneur
- Teaching purposes, highly qualified or cultural activity, or highly qualified subordinate activity
- Research, study, higher education students exchange, internships and volunteer work
- Family reunification
- Fixed residency for retirement purposes, religious purposes or people living out from individual revenues
https://vistos.mne.gov.pt/en/national-visas/necessary-documentation/residency
Also known as a “Working Holiday Visa”, this visa is for one year in Portugal only, restricted by age, and cannot be extended. It is currently available to youth citizens of 9 countries: Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, New Zealand, Peru, Republic of Korea, USA.
The Schengen Area (click to expand)
Portugal is part of the Schengen Area, which means a Third Country National who wishes to stay more than 90 days out of 180 needs to apply for a long-stay Schengen visa from a member state, even if the Third Country National is from a country under the Visa Waiver Program. Long-stay visas and residence visas are types of Schengen visas.
All applicants are subject to the laws of the Schengen Area which has uncontrolled borders with some exceptions. Visa requirements follow a similar standard between member states.
The UK has left the European Union, but the Withdrawal Agreement allows UK citizens until December 31, 2020, to establish residency in an EU Member State.
To calculate legal entries and stays for the 90/180 rule, you can use an online Schengen calculator:
https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/content/visa-calculator_en
