The D7 Portuguese Visa is a residence visa for foreigners living off an income: retired, pensioners or anyone with a recognized stable income. It allows the non-EU citizen to enter Portugal for the purpose of obtaining a residence permit based on the established existence of means of livelihood whose value should be transferred to Portugal.

This Visa is provided in general terms in article 58, paragraph 1, of Law n. 23/2007, of July 4, and specifically, in Article 24 (d) of Regulatory Decree No. 84/2007 of November 5.

It must be requested from the Portuguese consular representation in the country of residence of the applicant and it is valid for four months. In this period of four months the candidate will be able to enter Portugal to apply for the respective residence permit. As in other situations, this residence permit will have to be renewed after one year of his issue, then after two years and more two years. After six years in Portugal, if the applicant already knows how to speak the language, he may apply for the Portuguese nationality.

Stable Income

The applicants must have the following means of livelihood for 12 months (according to articles 2, n. 2 and 5, n.6 subparagraph (b) of Decree 1563/2007, of December 11):
– First adult: 7,620 Euros;
– Second or more adults: 3,810 Euros;
– Children under age of 18 and dependent older children: 2,286 Euros.

Jurisdiction and Timings

The consular sections service with jurisdiction in the area of the candidate residency has the power for granting the D7 visa.
The legal deadline for the decision on the visa application is 60 days, but sometimes there might be a delay, depending on the pending process of each consulate.
The consular service in charge must request an opinion from SEF (Foreigns and Borders Portuguese Service), which must issue it within 20 days (if it does not comply with the deadline of 20 days for issuing an opinion it is considered a positive one). If SEF issues a negative opinion, the applications it’s rejected binding the consulate opinion. On the other hand, if SEF issues a positive opinion, this is not binding for the consular service, depending on their evaluation to be valid or not.

Residency And Family

This visa is a residence visa valid for two entries in the country and allows the holder to remain on Portugal for a period of 4 months. The D7 visa is intended to enable the holder to obtain a residence permit for Portugal.
Like it was mentioned before, the residence permit obtained by the way of a D7 visa is valid for a year and it can be renewed for successive periods of 2 years until it is converted into a permanent residence permit after 5 years.
The holder of a residence permit obtained from the D7 visa, calculating by the period of residence, cannot remain outside Portugal for 6 consecutive months or 8 non-consecutive months.
Members of the family of the holder of the residence permit obtained via a D7 visa are also entitled to a residence permit, based on Portuguese family reunification statues.

D7 Visa Rights

The holder of a D7 Residence permit shall be entitled to several rights, as any other resident in Portugal, such as:
– Education and schooling;
– The exercise of an employment activity as a contracted worker;
– The exercise of an employment activity as an independent professional;
– Vocational guidance and professional training and retraining;
– Access to health care;
– Access to the law and the courts.