Is Basic DBS Check OK for the D7 app or the ACRO 'Visa' Certificate ?

Neale
We successfully received our D7 on Monday last week, 56 days from submitting in London.  We had the Accro Police Report, I dont think the basic DBS is enough.  I would not chance it.

All processed and compiled ourselves with no lawyer or visa company help, and even some of the information given on 'Obtaining D7' webinars I watched turned out to be incorrect.  Unfortunately it appears different consulates interpret what is required, making submission difficult and it is impossible to check properly before interview.  We were even given the wrong information regarding travel insurance from VFSGlobal helpline !!

Denise

Thanks Denise. So glad you are all legal and processed now. Thats good news.
What was the issue with the travel insurance? I have booked a 15 month policy with a 100 continuous day stay extension.

Thanks again for your advice
Neale

Well we expected to have travel insurance specific to Portugal, this was also advised on D7 visa webinars we viewed and to have cover in place for entry into Portugal and at least until period after SEF Interview, but we were processed by the VFS team leader and we had to change insurance on the day to Annual Multi Trip to cover Europe including Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Malta, Morocco, Spain, Turkey and Tunisia.  She was very clear about this, wrote it down for us.  We had to change insurance and return within 2 hours the same day to allow submission to be complete.

Am still a bit confused, especially as now we have SEF interview in Portugal mid January and not totally clear what medical/travel insurance is required for that.

Brexit has made things very difficult and confusing.

Good luck

Thanks - yes, nothing seems totally clear with this whole process !!

Hopefully i 'guessed' right with the insurance as i have just purchased an annual multi trip policy which includes those countries you listed.

Hi Denise,

Very useful to hear your experience, I am currently in Lisbon for 2 months with the intention of arranging my D7 from the London VFS office when i return.

So much of the info out there is confusing but your situation is as a Brit applying for a D7 is the same as mine, so if you have any other info that may clarify any points of confusion that would be amazing! I'd certainly owe you a few glasses of Portuguese wine!

Thanks,

Ash

Ash
You must at least have a  Portuguese bank account with 2 years balance as per the required D7 amount per person.  Must have a NIF and accommodation - either own property or lease for 1 year. 
Hope that information helps.
Denise

There is a lot of information here. If you still have doubts, please open a new thread:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 42#5077438
(Posts #7 to #11)

Hi Denise,

Once your paperwork had been accepted by the Embassy in London, how long did it take for them to give you the approval ? And did they need to keep hold of your passports for the duration?

Thanks in advance

Neale

Neale
Yes we gave them our passports, would rather have kept them, but know that it does make it more complicated for them and they view it as extra admin work for them, having to recall you to bring in your passport etc to affix the visa, and was keen to do anything that meant it would go smoother and quicker.   It took 56 days from submitting to receiving passport back with visa, which did include going across August, which is always peak holiday time for warmer european countries.  I would recommend you give them your passport.
Applied for the Baggage Certificate to transport all our household and personal goods duty and vat free, direct to the Portugal Consulate and received Baggage Certificate yesterday, that only took 10 days. 
Denise

Hi Neale.

I applied for my d7 visa with the Manchester Consulate. Depending on where you live in the UK depends which Consulate you apply to. It took exactly 4 weeks from me sending the application  to receive everything back fom them. I was advised it would take 4-6 weeks. They kept my passport for the duration as they stamp the visa in there once approved.
Here is a list of all documents I provided.

-Passport
-2 passport sized photos
-Application form
-Personal statement summarising why I want to move there, how I will support myself, where I will live etc.
-criminal record (this took 4 weeks to receive back)
-They emailed me a template which I has to sign to say I was happy for me to  check I had no criminal record in Portugal
-nif document
-Proof of funds in Portuguese bank account and UK bank account
- my partner who is a Portuguese resident had to write and sign a letter to say I would be living with him.
-travel insurance  I used AXA. They recommended this one on a link from the Consultes website.
-copies of my partners ID
- as I will be working remotely for my UK employer, they also had to write a letter to confirm this and my working hours and salary etc

It may not all be relevant to you what I had to provide but it gives a bit more of an idea of how in depth you have to go!
It doesn't seem like I paid for my criminal record check, it looks like I may have just done a subject access request to show there was nothing on record.

Before I did all of this I contacted the Consulate to see what documents they needed. It was so helpful as I would never had known i needed to provide all of this

All the best and fingers crossed your application goes well!

haydendenise wrote:

Neale
We successfully received our D7 on Monday last week, 56 days from submitting in London.  We had the Accro Police Report, I dont think the basic DBS is enough.  I would not chance it.

All processed and compiled ourselves with no lawyer or visa company help, and even some of the information given on 'Obtaining D7' webinars I watched turned out to be incorrect.  Unfortunately it appears different consulates interpret what is required, making submission difficult and it is impossible to check properly before interview.  We were even given the wrong information regarding travel insurance from VFSGlobal helpline !!

Denise

Hi. I'm happy u got D7 visa. Could u share your experience, naming exactly what kind of papers u was asked to provide, what is really required, 'cause I'm really confused here, nobody can tell for sure what's necessary. Tell us especially about proof of passive income, 'cause it's the most mysterious question. Also, it's not clear for me about health insurance. Should we make it only for the first time or during all 5 years, 'cause I've read there's a free public health care system for those who obtained a D7 visa. Could u also explain about accommodation. Did u rent something for a long term or Airbnb was enough option. I'd appreciate detailed explanation of your concrete case. By the way, which bank account did u open and do it remotely?

Thanks so much for the information, Denise. Very helpful.

Regards

Neale

zsheffield wrote:

Hi Neale.

I applied for my d7 visa with the Manchester Consulate. Depending on where you live in the UK depends which Consulate you apply to. It took exactly 4 weeks from me sending the application  to receive everything back fom them. I was advised it would take 4-6 weeks. They kept my passport for the duration as they stamp the visa in there once approved.
Here is a list of all documents I provided.

-Passport
-2 passport sized photos
-Application form
-Personal statement summarising why I want to move there, how I will support myself, where I will live etc.
-criminal record (this took 4 weeks to receive back)
-They emailed me a template which I has to sign to say I was happy for me to  check I had no criminal record in Portugal
-nif document
-Proof of funds in Portuguese bank account and UK bank account
- my partner who is a Portuguese resident had to write and sign a letter to say I would be living with him.
-travel insurance  I used AXA. They recommended this one on a link from the Consultes website.
-copies of my partners ID
- as I will be working remotely for my UK employer, they also had to write a letter to confirm this and my working hours and salary etc

It may not all be relevant to you what I had to provide but it gives a bit more of an idea of how in depth you have to go!
It doesn't seem like I paid for my criminal record check, it looks like I may have just done a subject access request to show there was nothing on record.

Before I did all of this I contacted the Consulate to see what documents they needed. It was so helpful as I would never had known i needed to provide all of this

All the best and fingers crossed your application goes well!

Thanks a lot for telling about your experience. As far as I get, they asked u to show a proof of your passive income or some remote job revenue. Correct? Did u ask them about what kind of proofs they accept before filling out papers or just took a chance and informed them about u have a remote job. And could u make it clear about health care insurance. What should it be? Some plain travel insurance policy, as we often make when travel or it gotta be something like 1 year policy?  U said about UK bank account funds proof. Did they ask u about it either or it's just your decision to provide this info. If it was their inquiry, how much did they ask u to have on your UK bank account?

Thats so useful - thanks for all this information and i am glad you are through the process.

@Saimfish,

Please do not repeat your questions in every threads. Your questions are already answered in the forum. You should use the search facility. You risk not getting any answers and your posts being deleted.

Hello,
You are best to email the Consulate directly, you can find the email address on the website. They will be able to send you a list and the actual documents you need.
For my passive income I just provided what my salary is, the company I work for, the hours I work and provided payslips to prove it was genuine. My employer also wrote a letter for me as back up. I also gave bank statements from Portugal and the UK to show I have enough money to be able to support myself for however long.
Again, if you email the Consulate they will be able to give you a better idea of what exactly you need to provide.
Health insurance normally is included when you open the bank. The information I got with mine is what I provided.


https://visa.vfsglobal.com/gbr/en/prt/contact-us

This is the contact information, that website also shows what things you may need to get ready before applying
All the best!

Thanks to everyone who posted their own advice and experience here, especially JohnnyPT for your long threads. It's of course a relatively new procedure since Brexit for Brits to apply for this visa (mainly Australians and Americans posting their advice online from what I can tell) so this has been really helpful.

I've just got my (first part of) D7 approved in Dec 2021 by the Portuguese Consulate so wanted to share my info to help others in the future. I've actually read it takes about 4-6 weeks for approving but fortunately mine was approved within 3 weeks. I can now travel to Portugal and my SEF meeting is booked for the latter stage of gaining a Residence permit.

So you book through VFS Global for the actual application meeting but I would recommend emailing your own Consulate for the full list of documentation required as others have stated. Apparently some of the requirements change per Consulate (which isn't particularly useful) but you can also phone them in advance to check over items. FYI I was applying to Portuguese consulate in London.

Required docs
Application form - Simple to fill out. You can find the different reasons for applying on the Consulate's website. My reason was 'fixed residency for people living out from individual revenues'. I did not have an inviting company but did have an inviting person (partner) so only filled one section which the woman at VFS global said was fine.
Strangely she asked for a date I'm travelling over to Portugal - which is a bit chicken and egg - I'm waiting on the Visa to be approved to travel over but I have to give a date for my Visa application. Anyway I gave a date and that's what got stamped.

Photos - Passport style photos to attach to your application. They also take a photograph there and finger prints.

Passport - You must give them your hard copy and you'll pay a courier fee for it to be sent and returned to your address. This will hopefully be returned with a stamped page for border control.

Declaration - As JohnnyPT mentions in more detail, a personal statement is really good to add and make sure to include reasons for migrating, professional qualifications and education, where you'll live and how you'll support yourself (work, income, retirement etc)

Health insurance - This must be an Annual Multi Trip policy and cover all of Europe, not just Portugal. I think it has to cover the entire period you could potentially stay there (Annual residence permit) not just the 4 months granted. They recommend AXA but you can also use a comparison site, it's not too pricey.
Make sure to take the main policy wording and page with benefits table as they specifically mentioned that page too.

Criminal record - For UK, you can request a basic DBS check which is quite cheap however it's usually for purposes of employment. They recommend getting the more expensive and physical certificate from Acro which is specifically mentioned for applying for VISAs - https://www.acro.police.uk/police_certificates.aspx

FYI I had to give the hardcopy which means you'll likely need another for the meeting with SEF...

Criminal record - For Portugal, I printed and signed this document giving authorization for your record to be checked by authorities in Portugal. https://vistos.mne.gov.pt/images/scheng … lta_rc.pdf

Accommodation - For those who need to rent a place, I can't help but for those with family, a partner or friends to stay with for your initial 4 months, I had my partner sign an Invitation and Responsibility form to say you can stay there and they will take full responsibility for you. We had this form and their ID signed and notarised in Portugal. https://www.sef.pt/pt/Documents/TR_Fronteiras_.pdf

Apparently some Consulates don't accept this and prefer a rental agreement or hotel/Airbnb etc booking for the length of stay. Again, another chicken and egg scenario which doesn't make much sense, or costs a lot!

Sufficient funds available - This is probably the largest section and the more evidence the better here. Of course you'll need to show a Portuguese bank account and relevant balance / accessible funds.

For regular income and showing I can support myself, I showed HMRC tax returns, payslips and bank statements showing income. I also provided my work contract and a letter from my work stating that remote work is fine, my salary and long term contract length.

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I really hope this consolidated info helps someone out there as the above comments and information from various people helped me.

A quick FYI on the VFS Global office in London (which I presume applies to the others too) - they have internet access and printers there to print anything you missed out but I'd recommend taking more than you need to be safe. If you do need to print, make sure to have access to the docs via your email or perhaps a USB stick. But beware, there's charges (of course) to use this.

Hi Denise
You state two year bank balance, this is the first time I've heard of this. Even my lawyer in Portugal didn't advise this. Can you give me details where this is highlighted.
Thanks
Johnr

Hi all, once you have the D7 visa stamp in your passport can you use the EU electronic gates and EU lanes in passport control say in France or Germany also Portugal; or do you join the 3rd country lanes at passport control?

Steve

With the D7 visa, you have permanent free entry and movement within the Schengen Area. But as the countries in this area are not all from the EU, and even include other countries outside the EU, I don't think you will be able to use these EU lanes... And mainly, you are a non EU citizen.

https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/scheng … ries-list/