Moving to Portugal involves a fair share of bureaucracy, but once you understand the basic system of visas, it’s honestly pretty straightforward. Once you have your visa covered, it is just a few small steps towards your borderless few months living in Portugal.
Residence visa in Portugal
There are many types of residence visas in Portugal, each allowing you to stay for longer than 90 days each 180 days (which is the business or tourist visa you get automatically by simply presenting your American passport). There is a student visa for university exchange programs and international students. There is a retirement visa, or the D7, which helps you relocate without a job and after a certain age.
There’s the Golden Visa, reserved primarily for entrepreneurs and people with companies that create jobs in Portugal.
Lastly, you can get European heritage citizenship, which involves searching through your genealogy for European ancestors and applying for citizenship in the corresponding EU country. The EU has an open movement of workers within its member states, so you don’t need a visa at all this way.
Type 1 Visa in Portugal
The most common visa taken by US and Canadian citizens is the type 1 visa. The visa is designed for those who want to settle in Portugal permanently and want to either retire, establish an independent business, live, set up investment, or establish themselves as an independent professional of their field in Portugal.
Your application for the type 1 visa needs to be made at least one month before the beginning of your stay to one of the Portuguese embassies or consulates in the US, located in Washington D. C., San Francisco, New York, or Boston.
You’ll be asked to show proof of healthcare insurance valid in Europe, evidence of sufficient funds to support yourself in Portugal (this includes accommodation), and you’ll be asked to permit them a background check, giving them access to your criminal records.
After that, you will be asked to attend an interview. This takes place after you arrive in Portugal and has a waiting time of longer than three months. However, you can then stay in Portugal if you already had your type 1 visa (meaning you can stay longer than three months).
After the interview, you will be given your type 1 visa, which will last for one year. After it expires, you can apply for a two-year extension and then another two-year extension after that.
And since all that makes five years, you will be able to apply for either permanent residency or citizenship after your type 1 visa. Americans are in luck, as Portugal and the US allow for dual citizenship, meaning that you won’t have to give up your American citizenship to become a citizen of Portugal. And with Portuguese citizenship, you can now travel Europe to your heart’s content as you are part of the Schengen agreement.
