WHAT KINDS OF RESIDENCE VISA ARE THERE
- 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.
All mobility students and researchers from countries outside the European Union must have a Residence Visa issued by the consular post of Portugal in their home countries.
When there is no immigration control upon arrival in Portugal, students must go to the Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) within 3 days of arrival to register their entry (Statement of Entry). All holders of a Residence Visa must request an interview with the Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) to obtain a Residence Permit. This permit can be extended until the end of the internship, vocational training, study or research programme.
Students from Member States of the European Union (EU) can enter Portugal upon presentation of a valid ID card or passport. However, for stays longer than 3 months the law states that students (from any Member State of the European Union or Schengen countries) must renew their registration at the City Hall of Porto, after this period of time has elapsed.
RESIDENCE VISA
- What does the residence visa consist of? If I have it, am I considered a resident? 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.
- What conditions must I meet to ask for a residence visa?
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 refusing entry; Who are not the subject of an alert issued in SEF’s Integrated Information System for 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.