The residence visa aims to allow its holder to enter Portugal, to request a residence authorization. This visa allows its holder to stay in Portugal for 4 months, to request from the SEF the corresponding residence authorization. Usually, the time limit for the decision about the request for residence visa is 60 days. It is important to draw your attention to the fact that, who has a residence visa is not yet a resident, being only entitled to ask for a residence authorization.
Apart from the special conditions, applicable to the granting of each type of visa, residence visas are only granted to third States nationals who meet the following conditions:
- Who have not been subject to an order to leave the country and for which the period of prohibition of reentry into Portuguese territory has not yet expired;
- Who are not the subject of an alert issued by any of the Contracting Parties in the Schengen Information System for the purpose of refusing entry;
- Who are not the subject of an alert issued in SEF's Integrated Information System for the purpose of refusing entry;
- Who have sufficient resources;
- Who are in possession of a valid travel document;
- Who are in possession of a travel insurance;
- Who are in possession of a ticket that insures their return.
- Who have not be convicted for a crime that, in Portugal, is punishable by deprivation of liberty for more than a year, although they have not served the sentence, or bear more than one conviction under identical penalty and that its execution has been suspended.
According to each purpose there 7 kinds of residence visas:
- Residence visa for the exercise of a Professional activity, under employment contract;
- Residence visa for the exercise of independent activity or for entrepreneurial immigrants;
- Residence visa for research or highly qualified activity;
- Residence visa for highly qualified activity developed by an employee;
- Residence visa for the attendance of a study plan, exchange of students, non-paid training or volunteering;
- Residence visa regarding the mobility of students of higher education institutions;
- Residence visa for family reunification.
Yes. The fact of having a residence visa does not mean that the SEF has to grant to you, necessarily, the residence authorization. There are other conditions that must be met.
