Portugal spouse and partner visa

If your spouse is a non-EU national with a Portuguese residence permit, you follow the family reunification procedure: your spouse applies to AIMA, and after approval you apply for the D6 visa at the Portuguese mission responsible for your place of residence within 90 days. Since Lei 61/2025 the resident must have held the permit for two years, or 15 months if you lived together for 18 months before the move, unless you are the parent of a minor child together, or the resident holds a highly qualified, ARI or Blue Card permit. Both spouses must be at least 18 and the marriage must be valid under Portuguese law.

For stays over three months, the MFA offers a temporary stay visa for family members of Portuguese citizens. You present a copy of the Portuguese citizen’s ID card and proof of the family relationship; applicants may be exempted from the criminal record, travel insurance, return ticket and proof of means. For short visits, a Schengen visa is free for family members of EU citizens, which includes Portuguese citizens.

National visa: EUR 110. Schengen visa for spouses of EU citizens: free. AIMA EU family card for applicants over 25: EUR 18 in person or EUR 15 online; under 25: EUR 15 in person. Family reunification permits follow the general AIMA fees of EUR 133.00 plus EUR 114.30.

Spouses, descendants under 21 or dependent, and dependent ascendants of EU, EEA, Swiss and Andorran citizens apply to AIMA for a residence card for family members of EU nationals. You apply by appointment at an AIMA office within 30 days after the first three months in Portugal, with your passport and stamped pages, the EU citizen’s identity document or registration certificate, a Term of Responsibility signed by the EU citizen, and an apostilled marriage record. Partners in a de facto union show both birth certificates and proof of living together for at least two years. AIMA decides within three months.

A refused national visa can be challenged by a complaint to the consulate within 15 days, a hierarchical appeal to the Minister of Foreign Affairs within three months, or an action before the Administrative Court of Lisbon within three months. The routes are not mutually exclusive, and each appeal procedure costs EUR 75 (except for visas following a family reunification approval). Since Lei 61/2025, a visa is also refused to anyone who entered or stayed in Portugal illegally and is subject to an entry ban.