Visa - Permanent Residency

@Sodade

I'm sorry to give you some bad news. It is not at all easy to have residency. I have been living there for 3 years and I also have a business arrest and I do not yet have a residence. There are some who have even obtained it after 7 years.

When you arrive at the airport they give you permission to stay for a month, in this month you have to go to the police to get a visa for another two months. after that it is mandatory to leave the country to go to your home country to the Cape Verde embassy to obtain a 6-month residence permit.

On each island there are different rules that depend a lot on the chief of police.

it is much easier to go to the city of Praia on the island of Santiago to the national immigration office.

However, you have to arm yourself with unlimited patience otherwise you won't be able to.

However, keep in mind that their goal is to make you illegal because they have to extort money from you

you should go to the Cape Verdean embassy in London with your passport (you can also call and ask for information) and ask which documents are needed for a visa and for how long you can do it.  You can do it for a year too I think.  However, the best thing in my opinion is to ask the Cape Verdean embassy in your country.  They will give you all the answers.  Because there are many documents to prepare.  Also the court certificate to see if you have a criminal record.  And in any case it is difficult to have residency.  It's a nightmare.

    Hi there I'm in the process of going to CV on holiday (just normal tourist VISA already sorted) with a view to looking for a place to live while I'm there and hopefully leave the islands with key in hand so that on my return to the UK I can take the necessary steps to do the big move to CV shortly after.
My question is regarding the VISA that leads to residency which, in my understanding, would be a 6 months VISA that needs sorting online beforehand and then completed in person at a police station, is this correct?

Being such a big move I'm concerned that either something could go wrong/delayed, be it at this initial stage or later once I am to renew said VISA (for another 6 months or a year I believe?), and I end up finding myself in an illegal situation without documentation to stay legally in the country, rent for a place to stay, etc.
I've seen comments somewhere that a 6 months VISA can take something like 2 years to be provided so not sure where would I stand in such a situation, hence my question.

The second part of my question regarding the VISA(s) leading eventually to permanent residence is whether or not I'm able to leave the country within that period ie I get a 6 months VISA an move to CV but need to travel back and forth a few times to bring my stuff etc; or I need to travel for work (or even holiday, anything I might need to do away) and so stay away from CV within that 6 months VISA period:
In these cases would the VISA end once I leave the country and would I need a new one every time I re-enter?
Could my entry be denied?
And finally how is the time counted for the residency status seeing that in my understanding I need proof from the Camara that I've been living there for the past 6 months to apply for residency/new VISA eg if I haven't stayed the full 6 months in the country but have been paying accommodation in CV in what would be then my only residence, while I still had to travel in and out of the country for whichever reason within that 6 months period.

I hope my questions are clear, many thanks in advance!
   

    -@Sodade

Hello Sodade,

The visa situation is nowhere as complex as you apparently believe based on your comments and questions.

It's actually quite trivial in practice. First of all, once you have arrived and are inside Cape Verde, you do not need a visa of any type or for any reason (except to obtain a commercial import license, or to be admitted to practice medicine in the country...but those are a whole other story that most visitors don't need to worry about). So you can do any official/private act in CV regardless of your visa status. You open a bank account, buy or rent properties, get a job, open a company, sign contracts, ANYTHING. You simply need your passport and a NIF (tax identification number which you can obtain in 10 minutes).

You see, once you are here, no one cares about your visa status, no one will ask you any questions about your visa status and no one will come looking for you if your visa has expired. I'm always amused when visitors say that they don't want to be here "illegally". In practice, there is no such thing. The immigration authorities do not care one bit whether your visa has expired or not.

The only time you will be asked about your visa status is when you leave the country. If you do not have a valid visa, the very worst that will happen is that you MAY have to pay a small fine when you leave the country. And if you have a residence here (just show your rental contract and say that you're just leaving temporarily) and you won't be fined.

Now there are two types of visas. There is the VISITORS visa (issued for 30 days upon arrival), and there are the RESIDENCY visas. You must enter Cape Verde as a visitor. Once you are here, you can either extend the visitors visa for 90 days, or you can apply for a residency visa. You do not have to do this within 30 days. You can do it AT ANY TIME after the 30-day visitors visa expires. You cannot apply for the residency visas before coming to the country or online. You can only apply in person after you are inside the country. The authorities do not care how long you take to apply for an extension of the visitors visa, or for a residency visa or renewal of your residency visa.

There are two types of residency visas. There is a 6 month TEMPORARY residency visa and there is a PERMANENT residency visa. You can apply for EITHER one after the 30-day visa expires. You do not have to apply for the temporary residency visa in order to apply for the permanent residency visa! The only difference between the two is that the permanent residency visa requires a lot more documents (a bureaucracy headache) to obtain, it's much more expensive (€100 vs €15), and it is initially granted for 2 years after which you can renew it for 5 years (whereas the temporary residency visa is for 6 months and can only be renewed once for another 6-month period...and you will only be able to apply for a permanent residency visa after the renewal).

Nobody is going to measure how long you have been inside Cape Verde. You can come and go as you please while the residency visa is valid. And you don't have to leave Cape Verde to extend or renew. If you leave Cape Verde with an expired visa, as I mentioned earlier, you may have to pay a small fine. Even if you leave with an expired visa, there is NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER if you wish to return. Europeans and Americans are welcomed back to Cape Verde with open arms because the local economy is highly dependent on foreign visitors regardless of whether you overstayed a previous visa. No one cares.

So just come here and do not worry about this whole fear about being jailed, or barred from entering or any such nonsense. Don't believe anything you read on the foreign websites because none of this officiao info is online.

Regards,

Angelo

@CVAngelo I really appreciate your help Angelo, this explanation paints a different image. However I'm still unclear so will pose an example of what I foresee is the timeline in my particular circumstance:

• I'm going soon to CV for over 2 weeks with a tourist VISA and hopefully find an apartment/house to rent and all is done on time for me to come back to the UK with keys in hand in order to be able to sell everything, leave my rental in UK etc to do the big move. While in UK I'll take care of the cadastro/police report and any other documents I need to present for my temporary 6 months VISA (online it says this must be done ahead of time from outside CV and we must enter CV with that 6 months VISA so it's confusing)
• I return to CV to the place I've already rented (either with tourist VISA or temporary 6 months VISA) - however it is likely to take me at least another trip and a bit of time to bring more stuff and take care of all my affairs in UK + I'll need to travel to other locations for work so within the initial 6-9 months I'll need to get out and back into CV a number of times - my quesation is wouldn't I have to stay continuously in CV for 6 months for the duration of the VISA not to lose it? Also will the Camara give me the doc saying I lived there for 6 months (as required for the Permanent VISA request) for as long as I've paid rent even if I wasn't actually for 6 months straight in the country?

Thank you again Angelo!

    @CVAngelo I really appreciate your help Angelo, this explanation paints a different image. However I'm still unclear so will pose an example of what I foresee is the timeline in my particular circumstance:
I'm going soon to CV for over 2 weeks with a tourist VISA and hopefully find an apartment/house to rent and all is done on time for me to come back to the UK with keys in hand in order to be able to sell everything, leave my rental in UK etc to do the big move. While in UK I'll take care of the cadastro/police report and any other documents I need to present for my temporary 6 months VISA (online it says this must be done ahead of time from outside CV and we must enter CV with that 6 months VISA so it's confusing)
I return to CV to the place I've already rented (either with tourist VISA or temporary 6 months VISA) - however it is likely to take me at least another trip and a bit of time to bring more stuff and take care of all my affairs in UK + I'll need to travel to other locations for work so within the initial 6-9 months I'll need to get out and back into CV a number of times - my quesation is wouldn't I have to stay continuously in CV for 6 months for the duration of the VISA not to lose it? Also will the Camara give me the doc saying I lived there for 6 months (as required for the Permanent VISA request) for as long as I've paid rent even if I wasn't actually for 6 months straight in the country?

Thank you again Angelo!
   

    -@Sodade

Hi again, Sodade,

I can clear up a few things.

You can come to CV, search for and rent your long term accommodation, then leave with your keys and return whenever you wish (at which time you are again given a 30-day visitors visa).

You CANNOT apply for a residency visa from outside of CV, not even at an embassy. You MUST go in person to the immigration department (DEF) once inside CV to apply for your temporary 6-month visa or your permanent residency visa.

You do NOT need a foreign police report to apply for the 6-month visa. You only need that for the permanent residency visa. But you will need the THREE Cape Verde police certificates (very easy to get yhese as they are local).

You should apply for your permanent residency visa in Praia since the civil servants on the other islands are clueless and Praia is where the decisions are made and the visa is issued.

But the temporary residency visa is much easier to get, requires less documents and takes just a couple weeks to get the documents you need and about a month to issue (and it is issued on the island where you apply for it). You will only have delays if you submit the wrong documents, if you are missing documents. Once you get it, you can come and go as you please while the visa is valid. It's a multiple entry visa so you do not have to remain continuously in CV for 6 months.

The permanent residency visa requires many, many documents some of which are a pain in the neck to obtain. It will take about 2 months just to gather all the documents you need. So it's a much more frustrating process unless you have someone knowledgeable to guide you through it. (You will need to bring your UK/England police certificate with you as you noted).

When you apply for a residency visa, THEY KEEP YOUR PASSPORT for as long as it takes to issue the visa!

So what I advise my clients who have some travel to do is to extend your 30-day visa for 90 days (because it requires just 3 documents and takes about a week to get). Or just leave even with the expired 30-day visa and pay the miniscule fine upon departure. This way, you won't be without your passport or run the risk that DEF has kept your passport by the time you're needing to travel. Then you can leave without a hassle. When you return "permanently" get another 30-day visa upon arrival and later apply for you temporary or permanent residency visa.

Cheers,

Angelo

Much appreciated Angelo! I guess you are referring to the permanent VISA when you say they keep your passport or do they also keep when applying for the temporary one?

I happen to have double nationality with 2 separate passports so would I still be allowed to travel in and out of the country with another passport while they keep my UK one to process my application?

Based on all the above I'm assuming the rental agencies don't care for one's VISA status ie I can rent a place regardless of which VISA I have or whether I'm waiting for one?

You're being extremely kind with your time, please advise whether there is some kind of service you offer should I require further assistance once I'm in CV, thank you again.

    Much appreciated Angelo! I guess you are referring to the permanent VISA when you say they keep your passport or do they also keep when applying for the temporary one?
I happen to have double nationality with 2 separate passports so would I still be allowed to travel in and out of the country with another passport while they keep my UK one to process my application?

Based on all the above I'm assuming the rental agencies don't care for one's VISA status ie I can rent a place regardless of which VISA I have or whether I'm waiting for one?

You're being extremely kind with your time, please advise whether there is some kind of service you offer should I require further assistance once I'm in CV, thank you again.
   

    -@Sodade

Olá Sodade,

They will keep your passport regardless of whether you apply for a temporary or permanent residency visa. As I said previously, they will keep your passport as long as it takes to issue whichever visa you apply for. They say 3 weeks, but it could be a lot longer than that. In Cape Verde, time has no value. So 3 weeks or 8 weeks, they really don't care how much it inconveniences you.

Certainly, if you have two separate passports, you can use one that they will keep for the application, and the other one to travel with. That really helps you to keep things under control.

Rental agencies have nothing to do with your immigration status. As I mentioned previously, legally, you can do ANYTHING in Cape Verde simply with your passport (and in some cases, you will need your NIF). No one can legally ask you to produce a visa (except for the two purposes I previously mentioned, and neither of them would ever apply to you...I assume you will not be starting a commercial wholesale import company, nor will you be applying for a license to practice medicine in CV).

You will only ever be asked to present a visa at the airport at the moment you are flying out of the country.

I do offer a range of expat services. You should contact me via private message to discuss.

Cheers,

Angelo

When you apply for a residency visa, THEY KEEP YOUR PASSPORT for as long as it takes to issue the visa!

Hello Angelo, you mentioned that they will take the passport for visa stamping, but do they still do that for permanent visas? Recently, I met a woman from the Netherlands, and she showed me her residence permit, which was a plastic card with the sign in Portuguese "Titulo de residencia - Permanente." Could this be something new?