As you know, being a resident of France, Belgium or Switzerland does not entitle you to live in Portugal for tax purposes. Portugal has always required European nationals to apply for a 5-year residency certificate, and we invite you to consult our dedicated article.
In view of the health situation, the Service des étrangers et des frontières (SEF) has just announced that applications for residence permits can now be submitted online.
Applying for a residence permit in Portugal to be done online
The introduction of a simplified procedure for applying for and renewing residence permits will cut waiting times, with no fewer than 250,000 foreign nationals currently applying to the SEF.
This measure has been put in place to facilitate the process in view of the health emergency, but also to make it easier to resolve delicate cases, and to increase efficiency in the management of requests.
According to a press release published today, when applying to renew a residence permit in Portugal, applicants will not even need to visit the SEF offices, but simply apply for a residence permit directly on the SEF website. SEF portal. The SEF will then carry out checks to confirm the application for a residence permit.
In the case of applications for visa-exempt residence permits (for EU nationals), applicants will also not need to present any new proof of life other than that applied for.
With this new measure, a substantial time saving is expected, as the procedure which previously lasted 40 minutes should now take 15 minutes. It has also been announced that the SEF will waive the payment of fees, which currently stand at 15 euros.
