Portugal D7 Visa

The benefits of a Portugal D7 Visa

Besides having the opportunity to live in beautiful Portugal, there are many benefits to obtaining a D7 visa which include the following:

• Visa-holders are granted full residency rights in Portugal without the need for a large investment
• A relatively low cost of living for a European country
• Access to the Portuguese healthcare system
• Visa-free travel to the Schengen Area of Europe (up to 90 days for every 180 day period)
• The freedom to study, work, and start a business in Portugal without the need for additional visas
• The opportunity to bring eligible family members with you to live in Portugal
• Entry into and the use of the Non-Habitual Residency Scheme (Portugal’s special tax program)
• Entry into the D7 visa program with one of the lowest monthly passive income requirements for an EU country
• The opportunity to gain permanent Portuguese residency after 5 years of living in the country

Some Disadvantages to the Portugal D7 Visa

There are some cons to the D7 visa program that some applicants will need to consider before beginning their application. This includes the following:

• All D7 visa holders must have a regular source of passive income that meets the minimum requirements.
• D7 visa holders must make Portugal their primary country of residence and can not move freely to another country in the European Union. This means that they must stay at least 183 consecutive days in the country (or 8 months with short trips outside Portugal) out of the year.
• D7 visa holders must become Portuguese tax residents. This entails that the visa holder declares their worldwide income to the Portuguese government every year.
• All D7 visa applications must be made from outside of Portugal at a Portuguese Embassy or Consulate in the applicant’s country of residence.

The general requirements for a Portugal D7 visa are fairly simple. All applicants must be at least 18 years older and meet the following criteria:

• The applicant is a non-EU/EEA/Swiss national
• The applicant has a clean criminal record
• The applicant is able to meet the passive income or remote income requirements
• The applicant has the sufficient funds necessary to support themselves and any accompanying family members for the first year of residency in Portugal

To maximize your chances of obtaining a Portugal D7 visa, speak to our legal experts today by calling: +1 844 290 6312

Income requirements for families

D7 visa applicants who would like their dependent spouse to join them in Portugal will need an additional 50% of the minimum income required to qualify (a total of €14,805 per year).

If children are accompanying their parents to Portugal on a D7 Visa, the applicant will need an additional 30% added to their minimum income requirement for each dependent child.

Individuals who would like to have their dependent parents accompany them in Portugal can apply for sponsorship once they have settled in Portugal.

D7 visa holders will be responsible for accommodating and supporting their dependent parents in total. Elderly parents who rely on their adult children will need to live with their adult son or daughter.

Obtaining a tax number

Part of the D7 visa application process is that foreign nationals obtain both a Portuguese bank account and Número de Identificação Fiscal (NIF), the tax number for Portugal.

Foreign nationals will need to have both a bank account and tax number before they begin the D7 visa application process.

To open an account in a Portuguese bank, foreign nationals will first need to obtain a tax number (NIF). To do this, the foreign national will need to visit a local Portuguese tax office (Finanças office) and apply for a NIF using their government-issued ID and proof of address from their current residence.

Applying for a NIF doesn’t take long and most applicants receive their tax number within an hour or two. Applications for NIF can be done by the foreign citizen or by their proxy representative.

Opening a bank account in Portugal

After the foreign citizen has obtained a Portuguese tax number, they can then open up a bank account in Portugal. Again, this process is fairly straightforward and will take up half a day at most. Foreign citizens can open up the account themselves or have a legal representative open an account for them by proxy.

To open an account in a Portuguese bank, the foreign citizen will need to visit a Portuguese bank with the following documents:

• A valid passport or another form of government-issued travel document. The ID must contain proof of the applicant’s identity and nationality
• The foreign citizen’s Portuguese telephone number
• Proof of the foreign citizen’s address in their current country of residence
• Any evidence that provides proof of income (payslips, savings statements, etc)
• The foreign citizen’s tax number in Portugal

Get in touch with our legal experts today to assist in this process.
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Non-EU nationals who can not enter Portugal on either a 90-day visa-free tourist allowance or through a Schengen Visa will need to apply for a D7 Visa. This Portuguese visa allows foreign nationals to enter Portugal where they can then apply for a D7 residence permit.

Applying for the D7 Visa

The first step in applying for a D7 Visa is booking an appointment at the nearest Portuguese Consulate or Embassy in the applicant’s current country of residence. Before you visit the Consulate or Embassy, applicants will need to gather the necessary supporting documents into a portfolio of evidence that will be submitted later.

At the visa appointment, applicants will then submit their visa application along with their supporting documents to the consulate or embassy officials. D7 visa applications usually take around 6-8 weeks to process. If approved, the Portuguese Consulate or Embassy will then send back the applicant’s passport with a visa attached to a passport page.

Applying for a Portuguese Residence Permit

The D7 visa is a temporary visa valid for 4 months from the date of issue. Visa holders will need to travel to Portugal during this time where they will then need to apply for D7 residency with Portugal’s Immigration and Borders Service (SEF).

Appointments with SEF for Portuguese residency are usually made for the applicant when their visa was issued. Visa holders will be able to retrieve information regarding their SEF appointment by visiting the URL printed on their visa which will give them the time, date, and location of their SEF appointment.

At the SEF appointment, applicants will need to pay a residence permit fee and submit biometric evidence in the form of a photo, fingerprints, and signature. Applicants will also be asked to confirm some biographical details (ex. date of birth, their employment, parents’ names, Portuguese tax numbers, etc).

Portuguese residence permits are normally processed within a couple of months. If approved, the residence permit will be sent to the foreign national at their Portuguese address. Once the foreign national receives their residence permit, he/she will then be granted all the rights of a resident in Portugal.

To apply for a D7 visa, applicants will need to submit the following supporting documents to Portugal’s Immigration and Border Services:

• A non-EU/EEA/Swiss passport (this must be valid for at least 6 months from the start of the application)
• D7 visa application form
• 2 passport photos
• Evidence that shows that the applicant has a Portuguese bank account
• Evidence that shows the applicant has a NIF
• Bank statements from the past 6 months (these need to be from your regular bank and show a history of regular passive income or income received from remote work)
• Proof of accommodation in Portugal (a rental agreement, mortgage statements, property deeds, or a letter from a Portuguese resident stating that you will live with them, etc)
• A clean criminal record from your current country of residence
• Any financial documents that show the applicant has a stable stream of passive or remote work income
• Proof of private insurance (health insurance coverage or travel insurance that covers medical-related expenses) valid for the applicant’s first 12-month stay in Portugal

All D7 visa applicants will need to prove to the Portuguese immigration authorities that they are able to meet the minimum passive income requirements. To do this, applicants will need to submit financial documents that verify their income.

Documents that may need to be included in the D7 visa application include the following:

• Bank statements that show income going into the account of the primary applicant. These statements can be from a bank account outside of Portugal and there must be at least 6 months worth of statements.
• Payslips (if your income comes from remote work)
• Financial statements from your investment account or dividend vouchers (if income comes from an investment)
• Rental contracts between landlord and tenant (if the applicant relies on rental income)
• Pension statements (for retired foreign citizens who rely on a pension)
• Proof of savings from a Portuguese bank account

To be approved for a Portuguese D7 Visa, applicants will need to prove to immigration authorities that they have adequate accommodation arranged in Portugal. This means that applicants should have longer-term accommodation arranged in Portugal such as a 12-month rental agreement or owned property. Foreign citizens can also stay with friends or relatives who are already residents in Portugal.

Documents needed to prove adequate accommodation

To prove that the D7 visa applicant has long-term accommodation arranged, they may submit the following supporting documents:

• Rental agreements between the non-EU citizen and a Portuguese landlord
• Property deeds of any homes that are owned by the non-EU citizen in Portugal
• A letter written by friends or relatives who the non-EU citizen plans to live with while in Portugal

D7 visa holders will have access to the state healthcare system in Portugal once they have obtained a Portuguese residence permit. However, before they obtain Portuguese residency status, they will need adequate insurance coverage that will cover any medical expenses that might arise when they are in the country.

This coverage could be medical insurance or travel insurance that will cover expenses related to medical care while abroad. This insurance should last for at least 6 months and cover all accompanying dependents who are traveling with the primary D7 visa holder.

Foreign citizens applying for a D7 visa will need to obtain a criminal record certificate from the country where they have been living for the past 2 years. U.S. citizens who are applying for the D7 Visa will need to obtain an FBI-level criminal record certificate.

It should be noted, that Portuguese immigration authorities prefer candidates with a clean criminal record.

However, applicants with minor crimes on their records are not automatically disqualified as long as the crime committed could be punished with less than 1 year of imprisonment under Portuguese law.

If you have any questions regarding your eligibility for a D7 visa if you have a criminal record, contact an attorney who specializes in Portuguese immigration law. You can contact us by phone +1 844 290 6312 or by filling out a form here.

To maintain D7 residency in Portugal, all residence permit holders will be required to meet the minimum stay requirements. This means that foreign citizens will need to reside in Portugal for at least 183 consecutive days out of the year the country. Permit holders will also meet the minimum stay requirements if they reside in Portugal for at least 8 months non-consecutively in the year. Absences from Portugal longer than 6 consecutive months may lead to the D7 residence permit being revoked.

As a result of their long-term stay in Portugal, all residence permit holders will become Portuguese tax residents and will need to notify the country to which they are a national of that they have tax residency in Portugal. Once the residence permit holder is a tax resident of Portugal, he/she will then be required to declare their overall worldwide income to Portugal every year.

Portuguese law states that any individual who spends more than 183 days of the fiscal year in Portugal under a Portuguese residence permit will become a tax resident in Portugal.

As a result, these individuals will therefore be subject to the Portuguese Non-Habitual Residency (NHR) Tax program.

The NHR program offers Portuguese tax residents certain tax benefits. These may include tax exemption from almost all of the tax resident’s foreign source income, a 20% flat rate for certain professions, lower income tax rates for income generated in Portugal, and much more.

In addition, all residence permit holders will also need to pay taxes relating to any business they operate in Portugal, real estate acquired, etc.

For more information regarding the specifics of Portuguese tax, consult with a Portuguese tax attorney.

Eligible family members can accompany the primary D7 visa holder to Portugal provided that the primary visa holder can meet the minimum income requirements (both passive and savings) to financially support all members of their family.

Dependents who are eligible to come with their family relative include the following:

• Spouses, civil partners, and ‘de facto’ partners of more than 2 years
• Children under 18 years old who are dependent on their parents
• Children under 25 years old who are dependent on their parents and enrolled in full-time education
• Parents over 66 years old who are dependent on their adult children
• Parents who are financially dependent upon their adult children

It should be noted that unlike other dependent members of your family, parents will need to live with their adult child while in Portugal.

Other family relatives who do not qualify for family sponsorship can apply for their own D7 visa if they are able to meet the minimum passive income required.

Upon receiving their D7 residence visa, foreign nationals will then be required to apply for D7 residence status. The initial residency permit is a temporary residence permit that is only valid for the first 2 years of stay in Portugal.

After 2 years, the permit holder will be able to renew their D7 residence permit if they can prove that they still meet both the financial and residency requirements. The renewed D7 residence permit will be valid for an additional 3 years.

After living in Portugal for 5 years under D7 residence status, foreign citizens can then apply for a Portuguese permanent residence permit. Individuals interested in applying for permanent residence will need to submit their application along with all the necessary supporting documents to SEF. In addition, all permanent residence applicants will need to pay the appropriate application fee.

If granted, permanent residence permits will be valid for 10 years at a time and can be renewed indefinitely.

If you would like to obtain citizenship in Portugal, you may apply for naturalization after 5 years of living in the country as a Portuguese resident. Before you begin the Portuguese citizenship process, it is important to check if you are eligible for dual citizenship. Some countries do not allow their citizens to become dual nationals and may invalidate their original citizenship if they apply for another one.

Benefits of Obtaining Portuguese Citizenship

If you decide to become a Portuguese national, you will also gain EU citizenship. Being both an EU and Portuguese citizen comes with many benefits which may include:

• The ability to live and move freely within the European Union and European Economic Area
• Full rights afforded to EU citizens
• Access to EU tuition fees at some of the world’s top-rated universities in the EU
• Access to Portugal’s national health care system
• Having all the benefits of EU’s privacy laws
• The ability to pass on your citizenship to your spouse and descendants
• A Portuguese passport

To apply for a Portugal D7 Visa, applicants will need to pay the following fees:

• D7 visa application fee: €90 per person
• D7 residence permit processing fee: €83
• D7 residence permit issuance fee: €72
• Medical insurance: costs will vary

All visa-related fees will need to be paid to the Portuguese Consulate or Embassy from where the applicant is applying. In addition to these fees, applicants can expect to also pay costs related to relocation, acquiring adequate accommodation, attorney’s fees, etc.

D7 visa applicants will also need to have sufficient funds in their savings to support themselves and any accompanying dependents during the first year of stay in Portugal. The amount needed will be dependent on family size.

The Portugal D7 visa can be especially tricky to acquire. Eligibility criteria and requirements are subject to change every year or so. To complicate things, application approval is left at the mercy of Portuguese consulate workers. Therefore, if you want to make sure that your Portugal D7 visa application will be successful, you should consider consulting with an immigration professional who is experienced with Portugal immigration law.

At IAS, we pride ourselves on staying up-to-date with the latest visa changes. We know it can get complicated and strive to make the process as stress-free and easy as possible. With our expert guidance and assistance, you can rest assured that your Portuguese visa application will be approved the first time around.

Some of the legal services our expert immigration lawyers provide are as follows:

• Assessing your eligibility for the Portugal D7 Visa
• Guidance and assistance with your application for a D7 residence permit
• Checking to make sure that you are submitting all the correct documents
• Further assistance and advice if you decide to apply for Portuguese permanent residence or Portuguese citizenship
• Liaising on your behalf with the appropriate immigration authorities where needed

For more information on how we can help you, contact us today at +1 844 290 6312.