What are the requirements for temporary residency visa in Portugal?

Golden Visa applicants must, first of all, choose the investment route they want. After that, they must obtain a Portuguese tax payer number, open a bank account in a Portuguese bank and transfer the necessary funds from abroad into this new Portuguese bank account. After the funds are in Portugal, the investor can execute the investment. After the investment has been executed, the investor is in a position to start the immigration procedure at SEF – Immigration and Border Service in order to obtain the golden visa. A clean criminal record, passport copy; evidence of entry and legal stay, proof of healthcare insurance etc. are also required. After receiving the residence permit, applicants are required to stay in Portugal for a mandatory legal period of 7 days a year. This is a mandatory requirement that must be fulfilled in order to renew the residence permit. For instance, the residence permit is valid for 2 years, then the applicant must spend 14 days in Portugal and submit proof of said stay (e.g., boarding pass, receipts from shops, car hire or hotels) to SEF in order to be able to renew the residence permit.

The necessary documents required for a temporary residency card in Portugal apart from travel documents are legal entry, NIF, Junta, financial records. Workers who enter Portugal on residency visas “can request for a residence permit.

Generally, the requirements to obtain temporary residence are the following: (1) You must obtain a valid residence visa, granted for one of the purposes provided by law for the granting of a residence permit, from a Portuguese consular entity, or through the Global VFS of your area of residence; (2) There must be no facts that, if known to the competent authorities, would prevent the granting of the visa, such as safety and health issues, that could put the country at risk; (3) Must have means of subsistence, i.e. minimum income, according to Portuguese law. (4) Must have accommodation; (5) Absence of conviction for a crime that in Portugal is punishable by a sentence of deprivation of liberty of more than one year. Once in possession of the residence visa, which is valid for 120 days, and grants the right to two entries in Portuguese territory, an appointment will be made with the Foreigners and Borders Service in Portugal to complete the process and collect biometric data. This phase requires the presence of the applicant. It is not possible to do it by proxy. According to the law, the holder of a temporary residence permit, cannot be absent from the country for six consecutive months or eight months interpolated, during the total period of validity of the residence card, except if they prove that during their absence from the country, they have developed a professional or business activity, or an activity of a cultural or social nature. This absence beyond those limits must be justified by means of a request submitted to SEF before the resident leaves national territory or, in exceptional cases, after the departure. This justification must be very credible, as the foreigners' service has tended to be rigorous in this regard.

Being a holder of a standard residency permit, you cannot be out of Portugal for more than six consecutive months, or for more than eight non consecutive months during the validity period of the residence card, unless for special situations that are considered exceptions to this rule and are expressly foreseen in the law. Golden Visa holders are only requested to stay in Portugal for 14 days, every period of two years correspondent to the card validity.