Portugal visa guide: every visa and residence permit type

If your nationality needs a visa, holidays in Portugal require a Schengen visa.

To visit relatives or friends in Portugal you apply for a Schengen visa, if your nationality needs one, at the Portuguese embassy or consulate responsible for your place of legal residence.

Only nationals on the EU or Portuguese airport transit visa lists need a visa to change planes inside the international zone of a Portuguese airport.

Treatment in Portugal lasting up to 90 days is done on a Schengen visa with a confirmation from the medical institution and proof you can pay.

Artists, athletes, conference speakers and delegates attending an event in Portugal for up to 90 days apply for a Schengen visa, if their nationality needs one, at the Portuguese mission responsible for their place of residence, with an invitation or accreditation from the organiser.

Business meetings, negotiations and trade fairs in Portugal of up to 90 days need a Schengen visa, if your nationality requires one, from the Portuguese embassy or consulate responsible for your place of legal residence.

Freelancers and self-employed professionals who will work for clients in Portugal apply for the D2 residence visa with a service contract, a written service proposal or the articles of association of their company.

Portugal has two entrepreneur routes under the D2: the immigrant entrepreneur visa, for people who have made or will make an investment in Portugal and have funds there, and the StartUP Visa, for founders of innovative projects who have signed an incubation contract with an incubator certified by IAPMEI.

Degree students (bachelor, master, PhD) and secondary-school pupils who will study in Portugal for more than a year apply for a D4 residence visa; shorter programmes and exchanges use a temporary stay visa.

Researchers admitted by a Portuguese research centre or higher-education institution apply for a residence visa (stays over one year) or a temporary stay visa (under one year) with a work contract, hosting agreement or research grant.

Graduates and students who will do an unpaid internship in Portugal related to their degree, or join a recognised volunteer programme, apply for a residence visa (D4) or, for shorter programmes over three months, a temporary stay visa.

The D1 residence visa is for employees hired by an employer in Portugal.

The D3 residence visa is for university teaching, highly qualified and cultural work.

The EU Blue Card lets highly qualified non-EU workers live and work in Portugal.

Managers, specialists and trainee employees transferred by a company outside the EU to a Portuguese entity of the same group can obtain the TDE-ICT residence permit.

Seasonal workers hired by an employer or temporary work agency in Portugal apply for a short-stay seasonal work visa for up to 90 days, or a temporary stay visa for seasonal work of more than 90 days and up to 270 days.

The D8 is for people who work remotely for employers or clients outside Portugal.

A foreigner living legally in Portugal applies to AIMA to bring family members; once AIMA approves, the relatives apply for a D6 residence visa at the Portuguese embassy or consulate responsible for their place of residence within 90 days.

Which route a spouse or partner uses depends on the person in Portugal.

The D7 is Portugal’s residence visa for pensioners, religious ministers and people living on income from property, intellectual property or investments.

The ARI, Portugal’s golden visa, gives a residence permit without a residence visa to people who keep a qualifying investment for at least five years.

Most long-stay visas end with a temporary residence permit issued by AIMA.

After holding a temporary residence permit for at least five years, you can apply to AIMA for a permanent residence permit if you prove basic Portuguese (A2), means of subsistence, accommodation and compliance with tax and Social Security obligations, with no prison sentences over one year in the last five years.