Will having a criminal record affect my chances of getting a visa in Portugal?

Answers

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  Tiago Gali Macedo

  NEXT/Gali Macedo & Associados

  February 18, 2022

  One can only apply for a temporary residence permit if they have not been convicted of a crime in their country origin for a crime that under Portugal’s legal framework would be punishable with a one year minimum imprisonment sentence. If this criteria is not met, the application for a temporary residence permit will most likely be refused by the Portuguese authorities. Theft (in which “'theft from employer” is included) is a crime that, in Portugal’s current legal framework, is punishable with one to eight year imprisonment sentence. As such, as your criminal record has that registered conviction inscribed in it, it is likely that your application for a temporary residence permit in Portugal would face issues related to this matter.

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  Barbara Pestana

  PaxLegal Law

  February 17, 2022

  The mentioned crime may correspond, in the Portuguese legal system, to the crime of abuse of trust, punishable by a prison sentence of up to three years. The law on foreigners provides that an applicant who has been convicted of a crime which in Portugal is punishable, in the abstract, with a prison sentence of more than one year, is prevented from obtaining a residence permit. Thus, in my opinion, the situation presented is an obstacle to obtaining a residence permit, in any of its modalities, in Portugal.

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  Nuno Albuquerque

  N-Advogados

  February 17, 2022

  Indeed, along with the visa application, you will need to submit a criminal record certificate from country of origin/residence (issued within the last three months). You must not have any history of criminal records, in any country in which you have lived.