Portugal D7 visa - Proof of accommodation – lease agreement

Great question! Ok I saw a YouTube couple, honeymoon always? Or something like that, they just moved to Portugal on D7, they said they used flatio.com and booked with no deposit, you can probably email them for more specific info but it seemed like they booked it without deposit, once in country they cancelled, and then rented an apartment in Lisbon. They are currently waiting on the sfe appointment in country and will use their new contract.  Whatever contract you get and need for the D7 should be cancelable!! In writing. And without deposit.  Good luck and keep us posted on your D7 quest!

https://www.flatio.com/

Hi,

The requirement to have a lease contract available at the consulate interview may vary from consulate to consulate. You should find out first your case:

https://portaldascomunidades.mne.gov.pt … asia/india

Here is a case of a US citizen where a comfort letter was enough:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=941967
(Post #1)

As a general rule, if successful with consulate, the visa gives you a 120 day (4 months) period in which you can move to Portugal, rent or buy a place, get settled, and attend an interview with SEF for the D7 residency permit (who then give a decision within 90 days of that interview).

When you arrive in Portugal and before the SEF interview you can stay in a hotel, AirBnb, have a comfort letter from friends who provide accommodation, etc. During this period and before the SEF interview you must have evidence that you have suitable accommodation to stay as long as your D7 visa lasts.

Evidence that the applicant has adequate accommodation:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 42#5123520
(Post #8)

JohnnyPT - Do you think a Booking.com reservation for the duration of my stay would be accepted as proof for the D7 embassy application ?

Once I get there, I plan to find a suitable place to rent properly before the SEF interview.

Also, does anyone know how many months accommodation proof does the London embassy ask for when attending for the D7 application ?

Cheers Neale

Neale, my husband and I attended the London VFS on 13 July, to submit application for D7.  You must have lease for one year, a booking.com reservation will not be accepted.  You also need a Portuguese bank account and a NIF, we had the team leader process us, many of her team kept requesting information from her during our submission and we saw and heard people getting turned away without those 3 things. We have not heard if we have been successful still awaiting outcome.

Thanks so much for the reply. That is very useful info for me to know. At least I know what I need to secure accommodation wise for the application.
Thanks again

This trip from August until December is to find out where we want to live in Lisbon or one of the towns in the Algarve.  When we return in 2022 to Portugal we will use a 3 month stay with no visa needed.  My question is if we buy or rent a place can we get a resident visa while in Portugal.  thanks, abe

If you're interested specifically in D7 visa, then no. You need to apply from a country where you have a permanent residency at the moment. For any other type of visa I can't say for sure.

I'm in the same situation and am unsure as to how to navigate the 12-month lease requirement for my D7. I'm going to Portugal in early Feb to try AGAIN to find a suitable accommodation.  My visa appointment is in late Feb and, although not ideal, am willing (if I have no choice) to pay a few months of rent without living there as I don't know how else it would be able to be executed.  If anyone has found another legally viable solution, please share. Thanks.

Typically people pay for the 12mo lease and CANNOT live in the property during the app process (except for maybe brief visits)! Depending on where your want to live, there is a firm that can provide accomodation and legal paperwork and not have you have to pay for an unlived in place. They are about a 40% premium over monthly rent.

@JohnNAnya

This is not 100% accurate. You are fully entitled to live in the rental property under certain conditions:

1. If you wanted, you would be able to live in it for 90 out of every 180 days, as a tourist with normal Schengen visitor status, regardless of the status of any other longer term residence application in progress. You would be effectively living in it like being on holiday for up to 90 days on and off.
2. The other way would be as follows: let's say you wanted to live in Portugal permanently and need to provide proof of 12 months accommodation (D7 visa etc). You would need a miracle to find a property to rent (incredibly difficult right now), and find a landlord who is actually prepared to rent to a tenant with no legal residence rights. BUT, if by some chance you achieve this, you would then leave to apply for the longer term visa you want in your home country. HOWEVER, you can then come back and live in it from the moment your ENTRY VISA is approved by the Consulate in your home country, even if the date of the AIM RESIDENCE VISA appointment is more than 90 days in the future. As soon as your passport is handed back to you, you can come back and live in that property. In a perfect world the RESIDENCE VISA interview with AIM should happen in less than the 90 days which the ENTRY VISA provides, but the government understands that it is their delay causing the "Overstay" and you won't be penalized. The only thing to keep in mind is that once you "overstay" in those circumstances, living in your apartment in Portugal, it is not recommended that you try to leave the country until after the AIM RESIDENCE VISA interview/approval, and you receive your Titulo de Residencia document.

Thank you. Would you please share the name of the firm (so I can explore this option)?

@Perpetual_traveler Ok; that makes sense. Thank you!

@Perpetual_traveler And, YES, it is incredibly difficult right now and would, indeed, be a miracle for me to find something. Thanks.

@daphnelavern

If you are trying to do this in any major city i can honestly say it is pretty much impossible right now. However, if you are prepared to go completely off the beaten track and look in very small towns  or villages, you might get lucky. Especially if you are prepared to pay 12 months up front. If you get all the nif and banking sorted in a couple of weeks, that would give you 2.5 months to tramp around and look at places yourself. In many places they will just put a sign on a window (not on Idealista). If you set things with VFS in motion before you leave you might get an appointment, just as you are returning to your country, spend a couple of months waiting and then can come back to Portugal and actually live in your apartment. If you don't like the place you can always move later.

@daphnelavern

My experience of the last two months verifies what others have said about finding accommodations.

We spent weeks and many hours searching online for a place with no luck. Yesterday, we finally found a lovely quaint village house  8 km outside a small town/city in northern Portugal. We are lucky to have the option of taking rental ownership in 4 months instead of immediately. We will have a legal rental contract within a week. As Perpetual Traveler suggested, we can always move later.

Thanks to both @perpetual_traveler and @pwinternational!  CONGRATS on your find, @pwinternational!!

My goal is to slow it down, so, yes, have been focusing on smaller cities/villages.  I've been scouting around for the past couple of years and in Sep 2022, found and fell in love with one of the small towns in one of the central districts.  I returned in Oct 2023 and re-confirmed that it was "the place for me"!

Just today, I connected with a friend who's moving out of her place in a village that is less than 5 miles away from where I want to live and she is 99% sure that I will be able to rent the place she's vacating!  It's smaller than I'd like, but, as noted in the earlier responses, I can always move later.  I think I handle/endure almost anything for 1 year, especially since the 1-yr lease is the means to an end.  Thank you all for your input!!

@daphnelavern we offer assistance that would be less than your flight most likely and navigate facilitating a successful lease.