Long-stay visas, in compliance with existing domestic law, can be either temporary or for residency authorization purposes, depending on the duration of the stay and granting the visa holder an authorization to stay in the country according to different purposes: study, internship, work, medical treatment, among others.
Temporary stay visas allow entry and stay in Portugal for less than a year. Temporary stay visas are valid during the entire stay and allow for multiple entries.
Residency visas allow two entries and is valid for a period of 4 months. During that time, the holder of a residency visa is required to request a residency permit with the Immigration and Border Services (SEF).
How do I know which is the adequate visa, according to both purpose and duration of stay?
Temporary Stay (less than 1 year)
Work and investigation
| PURPOSE | TYPE OF VISA |
|---|---|
| Subordinate seasonal work | Temporary stay visa for seasonal work for a duration of over 90 days. |
| Independent work | Temporary stay visa for independent work. |
| Highly qualified activity | Temporary stay visa for scientific research, higher education professorial activity or highly qualified activity purposes for a period of less than a year. |
| Professorial activity | Temporary stay visa for scientific research, higher education professorial activity or highly qualified activity purposes for a period of less than a year. |
| Amateur sports activity | Temporary stay visa for amateur sports purposes. |
| Transfer of workers or service providers when the applicant has been working for over one year | Temporary stay visa for transfer of workers purposes for state parties to the WTO, for provision of services or professional training. |
| Show business and performing artists | Temporary stay visa for scientific research, higher education professorial activity or highly qualified activity purposes for a period of less than a year. |
| Investigation | Temporary stay visa for scientific research, higher education professorial activity or highly qualified activity purposes for a period of less than a year. |
Study
| PURPOSE | TYPE OF VISA |
|---|---|
| Secondary Education | Temporary stay visa for periods of over 3 months, for study programs, student exchange, training, unpaid internship, volunteer work purposes, as well as commitments pursuant to international agreements or conventions. |
| Bachelor´s Master´s PhD Post-Doc |
|
| Mobility program / Exchange program |
Professional training, internship or volunteer work
| PURPOSE | TYPE OF VISA |
|---|---|
| Transfer of workers or service providers when the applicant has been working for over one year. |
Temporary stay visa for transfer of workers purposes for state parties to the WTO, for provision of services or professional training. |
| Transfer of workers or service providers when the applicant has been working for less than one year. |
Temporary stay visa for transfer of workers purposes for state parties to the WTO, for provision of services or professional training. Or Temporary stay visa for periods of over 3 months, for study programs, student exchange, training, unpaid internship, volunteer work purposes, as well as commitments pursuant to international agreements or conventions. |
| Unpaid internship | Visto de estada temporária para permanências períodos superiores a 3 meses; frequência de programas de estudo, intercâmbio de estudantes, formação, estágio profissional não remunerado, voluntariado ou compromissos decorrentes de convenções ou acordos internacionais. |
| Volunteer Work | Temporary stay visa for periods of over 3 months, for study programs, student exchange, training, unpaid internship, volunteer work purposes, as well as commitments pursuant to international agreements or conventions. |
| Professional training | Temporary stay visa for courses in an educational or professional training institution. |
Health
| PURPOSE | TYPE OF VISA |
|---|---|
| Medical treatment | Temporary stay visa for medical treatment purposes. |
| Accompany a family member undergoing medical treatment | Temporary stay visa for accompanying family member undergoing medical treatment purposes. |
Youth Mobility - International Agreements
| PURPOSE | TYPE OF VISA |
|---|---|
| Work and holiday / Exchange pursuant to international instruments |
Temporary stay visa for periods of over 3 months, for study programs, student exchange, training, unpaid internship, volunteer work purposes, as well as commitments pursuant to international agreements or conventions. Applicable only to nationals from countries with whom Portugal has signed Memorandum of Understanding. Check further information at Youth Mobility. |
People living on their own income
| PURPOSE | TYPE OF VISA |
|---|---|
| Retired | Temporary stay visa for periods of over 3 months, in exceptional and dully justified cases. |
| People living on their own income |
Residency (more than 1 year)
Work
| PURPOSE | TYPE OF VISA |
|---|---|
| Subordinate work | Residency visa for subordinate work purposes |
| Independent work | Residency visa for independent work purposes or entrepreneurs |
| Entrepreneurs | |
| Highly qualified activity | Residency visa for higher education teaching purposes, highly qualified activity or cultural purposes, as well as, highly qualified subordinate activity. |
| Higher education teaching / Professorial activity | |
| Highly qualified subordinate activity | |
| Show business and performing artists | |
| Sports activities | Residency visa for subordinate work purposes. |
Study and Research
| PURPOSE | TYPE OF VISA |
|---|---|
| Research | Residency visa for research, study, high-school student exchange, internship and volunteer work purposes. |
| Secondary education | |
| Bachelor´s Master´s PhD Post-Doc |
|
| Mobility program / Exchange program | |
| Religious person undertaking studies in a recognized institution. |
Professional training, internship or volunteer work
| PURPOSE | TYPE OF VISA |
|---|---|
| Professional training | Residency visa for research, study, high-school student exchange, internship and volunteer work purposes. |
| Unpaid internship | |
| Volunteer work |
Family Regrouping
| PURPOSE | TYPE OF VISA |
|---|---|
| Family regrouping (prior SEF consent required) | Residency visa for family reunification purposes |
