Immigration to Portugal - WithPortugal
sokolova-majya

Immigration to Portugal
Individual consultations

Oksana Sokolova-Maya

Official licensed notary lawyer in Portugal

  • Residency permit for entrepreneurs and freelancers
  • Residency permit for retirees and those with passive income
  • Residency permit for family reunification
  • Golden visa
  • Work visa
  • Student visa
200 / h
Reviews (18)
Individual consultations
FAQ | Frequently Asked Question
In Portugal, you can get a residence permit based on passive income, such as pensions, rental income from real estate, dividends, royalties, etc.

You can register an LLC in Portugal remotely through your representative. You can also open an IE in Portugal and start functioning, receiving income in a Portuguese bank account, and paying taxes. After that, at the Portuguese consulate in your country, you need to request a D2 residence visa or any other type of visa available for freelancers or entrepreneurs. We recommend that you try to find at least one counterparty or client in Portugal to show your connection with the country.

You can come to Portugal on a short-term visa and get a residence permit after some time. This legalization method is regulated by article 88, paragraph 2 of the Immigration Law. You will need to find an official job in Portugal to do this. Another option is to open a business here (it can be LLC or IE). This legalization method is regulated by article 89, paragraph 2 of Immigration Law. The disadvantage of this method is that obtaining a residence permit is not 100% guaranteed. In addition, the process can take a year, two or more, and you will not be able to leave the country until the legalization process is completed. You can read the real story of such a case here.

One of the most realistic ways to obtain citizenship in Portugal is to reside in the country for 5 years legally. The basis can be different, for example, study, work, investment, entrepreneurial activity, etc. After this period, you are eligible to apply for Portuguese citizenship. In this case, it is necessary to comply with some conditions. One of them is knowledge of the Portuguese language. Read more about how to obtain citizenship in this article.

Practice shows that specialists with diplomas from countries outside the EU can find work in Portugal, but this is not easy. For that, it is better to know the Portuguese language, validate your diploma, make a CV in two languages ​​(Portuguese and English), prepare a cover letter, contact recruiting agencies in Portugal and monitor vacancies on various job search websites. Therefore, we have prepared step-by-step instructions on looking for a job in Portugal, which you can see here.

We cannot answer the question "How much money do I need to live in Portugal?", but we can answer the question "How much money per month do you need to survive in Portugal?". In 2022, the minimum salary in the country is 705 euros per month. And this means that many people work in Portugal and survive on this salary every month. Consequently, an immigrant in Portugal can also modestly live alone on this amount, renting a room. We have prepared a detailed article on this topic.

The right to urgent medical care is consecrated in the Constitution and given to any person in Portugal, regardless of citizenship, social and economic status, legalization, and other factors. For foreigners, medical care will cost more than for a resident of Portugal, but everyone has access to Portuguese medicine.

School education in Portugal is available and obligatory for all children, including immigrants, even without legal status. A foreigner in a Portuguese school is the norm, so teachers and staff are ready for this and know what to do. However, you need to prepare some documents in advance, which you will definitely be asked when enrolling a child in a school.

It is best to start learning Portuguese before you move. You can try to find a tutor in your hometown, a teacher from Portugal, or sign up for an online Portuguese course on our website. After moving, you can go to the free public courses Português para Falantes de Outras Línguas, which you can find in almost every city in Portugal.

You can read more about the changes in the program in our article on the golden visa, but the main difference concerns the fact that the minimum amount of investment in residential real estate of 500,000 euros has become allowed only in the interior regions of Portugal, as well as in the Azores and Madeira. Consequently, investors were deprived of a beautiful opportunity to invest money in the areas of Lisbon, Porto, and coastal regions, as there is always an increased demand for real estate in such places.

If your plans include emigration from your native country to Portugal, we advise you to decide in advance the ways of legalization in a new place. Why? Because many visa processes should and can only start at your place of registration. For example, to obtain a residence permit, a person with passive income needs to get a special type D visa, which must be prepared at the Portuguese embassy in the country of current residence.

It is imperative to think through all the steps in advance so that you do not become a captive of unobvious difficulties later. For example, after obtaining a residence permit in Lisbon for yourself and a minor child for family reunification or in the presence of a resident guardian, you will only have to live in Lisbon until the child receives a residence (the school depends on the place of residence of the guardian).

There are a lot of such subtleties and cases, and it is better to know about them in advance. You need to understand that there are certain features, difficulties, and even risks in obtaining a particular type of residence permit. And if you feel that you have insufficient understanding, we are ready to help you calculate, predict and help reduce all kinds of risks.

Immigration to Portugal has become our specialization after personal legalization - we are not friends or friends of friends who have heard something about the residence here, we have become residents ourselves, and we want you to be able to do the same. Therefore, only skilled specialists provide consultations on the WithPortugal website: our team includes an accountant, a lawyer, an immigration consultant, a translator, a Portuguese language teacher, a family doctor, and other specialists, each of whom specializes only in their area, and not all at once.

There are many clients from all over the world and cases of moving people from different countries in their portfolios over the past 10 years. Some of them seemed just impossible at first, so order a consultation from them in any incomprehensible situation. They will ask about everything, from the period of a valid passport to medical records (we are not joking, sometimes this is important!), they will tell you the options for obtaining a residence permit specifically in your case, and they will tell you where to start and how to continue, they will hand you a road map (action plan and a list of necessary documents for collection).

Before you order an immigration consultation, we will give you valuable advice - you can get the most out of even an hour of conversation if you read the relevant articles on our website in advance and prepare specific questions and comprehensive information about yourself.

We wish you good luck and an easy move. And if you have any questions - we are always in touch!

You can read about how to move to Portugal in our articles on the WithPortugal website, which contains helpful information concerning immigration and life in this beautiful and sunny country.

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