Portugal Retirement Visa For Citizens Of Pakistan

Portugal is an increasingly popular retirement destination for those looking to move abroad in their retirement. However, if you do not have EU citizenship, you are likely to need a Retirement visa in order to retire there.

If you are a Pakistani citizen looking to retire in Portugal, the chances are that you will need a Retirement visa.

There are two main visa routes which non-EU citizens can take in order to retire in Portugal.

These are the Retirement visa (otherwise known as the D7 or the Passive Income visa) and the Portugal Golden visa. These visa types both provide routes for non-EU citizens to retire in Portugal, and both are increasingly popular with Pakistani citizens.

It is very likely that Portugal’s Golden visa programme will be discontinued this year. However, in the meantime, the details of the programme are as described in this article.

Page Contents

• Portugal Retirement Visa For Citizens Of Pakistan: An Overview
• Portugal Retirement Visa Eligibility Requirements For Pakistani Citizens
• The Portugal Golden Visa: A Retirement Option For Those Looking to Invest
• What Documents Will I Need for a Retirement Visa?
• How To Apply For The Portuguese Retirement Visa
• What Are Retirement Visa Application Fees?
• The Application Processing Time
• How Long Does the Retirement Visa Last?
• Can I Bring My Family With Me?
• Portugal Permanent Residency & Citizenship
• Which Visa Option Is Best For Me?
• How Can Total Law Help
• Frequently Asked Questions

As already mentioned, the Portuguese Golden visa is one of the two visa options most commonly pursued by Pakistani citizens wanting to retire in Portugal.

If you are in a financial position to invest in Portugal, or wish to purchase Portuguese property, the Golden visa might be the best option for you. Whilst the programme is likely to be discontinued this year, the investment options which the programme offers as things stand are outlined in this section.

However, not all investment is sufficient. Only certain types and amounts of investment are eligible for Portugal’s Golden visa. These are as follows:

• Purchasing property which has a value of at least €280,000 which is in a low-density region
• Purchasing for renovation a property which has a value of at least €300,000 and which is over 30 years old
• Purchasing a property which has a value of at least €400,000, which was built within the last 30 years, and is in an area which is sparsely populated
• Purchasing a property for at least €500,000. At this price point, the property can be new and/or commercial real estate
• Transferring at least €1 million in capital to Portugal
• Either investing €1 million in a Portuguese company or purchasing shares of that value
• Donating to research in a Portuguese research institution, at a value of at least €350,000
• Donating to Portuguese national heritage or arts reconstruction, at a value of at least €250,000

Note that the Golden visa is not exclusively open to retirees. However, it is a visa option which is commonly pursued by retirees who are looking to invest in Portugal and who wish to move to either Portugal or to the EU more generally.

There are a number of documents which you will require in order to apply for a Retirement visa in Portugal. These are as follows:

• Your passport, which must be valid for at least 6 more months
• 2 passport photos, which are in keeping with Portuguese passport requirements
• A Portuguese residence visa application form, which can be found on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal website.
• Proof that you have sufficient passive income to support yourself when in Portugal, as outlined in the previous section
• Proof that you will have acceptable accommodation within Portugal
• Proof of health insurance. You must have travel insurance with medical coverage or an international health insurance plan
• Your birth certificate (and marriage certificate, if applicable)
• Proof that you have never been charged with a crime for which the punishment is at least one year in prison

All of the required documents must be submitted in either English or Portuguese. If the documents are not already in either of these languages then you can have them translated by an authorised translator and then signed by a notary.

There are a number of steps which you must complete when applying for a Portuguese Retirement visa.

First, you must contact your local Portuguese embassy or consulate in order to submit your visa application. In the case of Pakistan, there is a Portuguese embassy and consular section in Islamabad. You will then need to make an appointment with the embassy or consulate and pay the visa application fee.

When you attend your appointment, you will need to submit all of the required documents. Your application will then be processed and you will need to wait for a response.

If the application is successful, you will now be able to enter Portugal. Upon arriving in Portugal, you will need to make an appointment with the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) in order to apply for a residence permit. Note that this is a separate document to your visa.

In cases where your closest consulate or embassy is in a different country to your country of residence, it is sometimes possible to apply for a Portuguese visa by post.

When applying to obtain a Retirement visa for Portugal, you will need to pay the following fees:

• €90 national visa fee
• €83 processing fee to the SEF
• €73 residence permit fee

However, the costs will differ significantly in the case of a Golden visa. As discussed earlier in this article, you will need to invest at least €280,000 in order to be eligible for the Portuguese Golden visa. This visa option is therefore better suited for those in a position to spend a greater amount in obtaining a Portuguese visa.

Note that, if you need to pay to get your documents translated into either Portuguese or English, this will add to the expense of the application. The exact cost will depend on the translator and notary whom you select.

The processing time for your application will depend on the type of visa for which you are applying.

In the case of a Retirement visa, processing time is generally around 4 months. In the case of a Golden visa, it can take between 8-10 months for the application to be processed.

However, processing times will vary depending on the number of other applications currently being processed and whether your documents were submitted correctly and in full. In order to minimise delays, make sure that you have all the documents necessary when starting your application, and that all documents are translated into either Portuguese or English.

If you are concerned about ensuring that you have all the necessary documents for your application, contact Total Law today on +44 (0)333 305 9375 to receive bespoke application advice.

Your Retirement visa itself will be valid for 3 months. Once you arrive in Portugal, you will need to apply for a residence permit, which will then last you for up to a year.

After the year has passed, you can apply to extend the permit for two further 2-year periods, after which point you can apply for permanent residence or citizenship.

If you are married or in a long-term partnership, your partner may also be eligible for a Retirement visa in their own right. If so, they will need to make a separate visa application.

Another potential route which you can take to having your family join you in Portugal is if they obtain Family Reunification visas.

In this case, you can be joined by your spouse, children, or dependent first-degree relatives (i.e. parents, siblings, or children). However, in order to qualify for Family reunification visas, your passive income will need to be correspondingly higher: in addition to the initial €760 in passive income, you will need to provide evidence of a passive income which amounts to an additional 50% for each adult family member who will be joining you, and an additional 30% for each family member who is still a minor.

Once you have legally resided in Portugal for at least 5 years, you may then be eligible for Portuguese permanent residence or citizenship. This is true for both the Retirement visa and the Golden visa. Upon receiving Portuguese citizenship, you will be free to travel, work, and study across the entirety of the EU.

However, applying for Portuguese citizenship has further eligibility conditions which you must satisfy. For instance, you will need to demonstrate that you have had a clean criminal record for the duration of your time living in Portugal and that you have Portuguese language proficiency at least to the A2 level. You will also need to demonstrate that you have acceptable accommodation within Portugal.

Both the Retirement (D7) visa and the Golden visa are popular with Pakistani retirees. Both options allow you to reside in Portugal whilst also providing easy travel access to the rest of the EU. Portugal’s warm climate, breathtaking nature, and culturally rich cities will be available to you on either visa.

There are also no age limitations on either visa type, so long as you are over 18. Neither the D7 visa nor the Golden visa strictly require you to be a retiree; they are simply common visa choices for those seeking to retire in Portugal.

In the above respects, then, both the D7 visa and the Golden visa are good choices for those seeking to experience the lifestyle benefits of retiring in Portugal.

However, the financial requirements of the two visa types are very different. The passive income requirements of the D7 visa are significantly lower than the investment costs required for the Golden visa. As such, which visa type you pursue will largely depend on how much you are looking to spend. If you were already planning on purchasing property in Portugal, for example, the Golden visa may be best for you. If you have access to less capital, on the other hand, the D7 visa is likely to be a better choice.

If you are unsure which visa option is most suited to your circumstances, contact Total Law today on +44 (0)333 305 9375 and we can help you to work out which path is best for you.