Portugal Family Reunification Visa

Non-EU citizens living in Portugal on a residence permit often wish to have their families join them in Portugal. If your family members are also non-EU citizens and wish to join you in Portugal, they may be eligible for a family reunification visa.

Family Reunification visas allow their holders to live, work, and study in Portugal for the duration of their validity.

Once your family member has a family reunification visa, they will generally be allowed to stay in Portugal for the duration of your own residence permit. After 5 years of living legally in Portugal themselves, they may be eligible to apply for Portuguese citizenship.

Page Contents

• Portugal Family Reunification Visa As a Turkish Citizen: An Overview
• Eligibility Requirements for a Family Visa in Portugal
• The Required Documents for a Family Reunification Visa
• Portugal Family Reunification Visa Application Fees Breakdown
• The Application Processing Time
• How to Apply for a Family Reunification Visa in Portugal
• How Long Will the Family Reunification Visa Be Valid?
• How Can Total Law Help?
• Frequently Asked Questions

There are a number of eligibility requirements when applying for a Portuguese Family Reunification visa.

For instance, when applying for family reunification, it is important to keep in mind which family members are actually eligible. Family reunification is intended to reunify close family members, rather than family members who are more distantly related to you.

As such, not all of your family members may prove eligible.

Your individual family members may be eligible if they fall within the following categories:

• You are married to or registered partners with the person in question
• They are your child (or children under your legal care) and are still a minor. Note that adopted children are also eligible
• They are first-degree relatives (i.e. your parent, sibling, or child) and are currently dependent on you. Note that, in this circumstance, the family member does not need to be a minor
• They are your sibling, are still a minor, and are enrolled in a registered educational establishment within Portugal, or are under your legal custody

However, there are certain exceptions to these categories of eligibility:

• a student permit
• unpaid traineeship
• voluntary service

If you are in Portugal on any of those three grounds, you will only be eligible to bring your spouse, children, and adopted children.

When your family member is applying for a Family Reunification visa, the specific documents which they require will depend on the nature of the family relationship in question.

Generally speaking, however, a number of the following documents will be required, as applicable to the relationship at hand:

• Evidence of your own legal residency within Portugal. This could take the form of your own residence permit, for instance, which must still be valid
• Evidence of your relationship with the family member(s) applying for a visa. These could include a birth certificate, adoption certificate, or marriage certificate
• Copies of your passports or valid ID
• Evidence that your family members will have acceptable accommodation when in Portugal
• Evidence that the family member(s) will be adequately financially supported
• Criminal record certificate
• Evidence that your family member(s) legally reside in their current country of residence
• In the case of first-degree family members who are not minors, proof of incapacity or economic dependency on you
• Proof of enrollment in a Portuguese educational institution
• In the case of minor siblings, evidence of legal guardianship
• In the case of registered (as opposed to married) partners, evidence of the common-law union

In order to maximise your chance of a successful application and to avoid delays, it is important to ensure that you have all the necessary evidence for your application before proceeding with the family reunification process.

For more information on the evidence which will be required for your specific circumstances, contact Total Law today on +44 (0)333 305 9375 and receive bespoke immigration advice on your application for family reunification.

The cost of a family reunification visa is €84. This will need to be paid for each family member who is applying for a visa, rather than one payment covering the entire family.

However, note that the children of a valid residence-permit holder are exempt from this fee.

The processing time for a Family Reunification visa is normally around 60 days. However, this time can vary depending on how many other visas are currently being processed and whether any documents are missing from the application.

In order to avoid delays, it is important to make sure that all the required documents are submitted and are in the correct form. Total Law can help you ensure that you have all the documents necessary for your application. Contact Total Law today on +44 (0)333 305 9375 to receive help with preparing your application.

Applying for a Family Reunification visa involves a number of steps.

Firstly, you will need to submit an application on your family member(s) behalf. This application will be submitted to the Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (SEF).

Assuming that this application is approved, the family members who are seeking a visa will need to submit their own applications to the Portuguese embassy or consulate in the country in which they reside.

In the case of Turkey in particular, there is an Embassy and Consular Section in Ankara. There are also Honorary Consulates in Istanbul, Antalya, and Izmir. Additionally, there are Honorary Consulates in both Georgia and Azerbaijan which may also be used.

Your family member will then schedule an appointment with their local embassy or consulate, where they will need to present the documents required for their application.

These documents must be submitted in Portuguese. If they are not already in Portuguese, they can be translated by an authorised translator and then signed by a notary.

Note that these two stages of receiving authorised translations are likely to involve further costs beyond the aforementioned €84 application fee, though these costs will vary depending on the translator and notary you have chosen.

If the application is successful, your family members will then be eligible to enter Portugal. Once in Portugal, they will need to schedule an appointment with the SEF in order to register as a resident. They will then receive a residence permit, which is in addition to their visa.

The length of time for which your family member’s visa is valid will depend on the nature of your own residence permit.

If you have a temporary residence permit then the Family Reunification visas will generally be valid for the same length of time as your temporary residence permit. However, your family members may be eligible to extend their visa as appropriate.

If you have a permanent residence permit, however, your family members’ permits will be valid for up to 2 years, although these can generally be extended once that 2 years has passed.

Once your family members have legally resided in Portugal for at least 5 years, they may be eligible to apply for Portuguese permanent residency or citizenship. However, note that further eligibility criteria will apply in the case of Portuguese citizenship. This includes Portuguese language proficiency, at least at the A2 level, and a clean criminal record whilst they have been residing in Portugal.