Study Visa For Portugal From South Africa

Portugal has renowned universities and polytechnics that offer subjects that are recognised internationally. The cost of living and tuition fees in Portugal are more affordable when compared to what is obtainable in most European countries.

One of the reasons non-EU nationals, including South Africans, obtain a Study visa to study in Portugal is because Portugal is acknowledged as the centre of academic excellence, in teaching, learning, and practice.

Additionally, the certificates South African citizens will be issued in accredited Portuguese educational institutions are recognised all over the European Union countries and beyond.

Although, knowing Portuguese is important for a degree programme as most courses are taught in the native language, you must not learn Portuguese for Post-graduate studies in the country. This is because most post-graduate studies are taught in English language for international students, including South African citizens.

You can obtain a Short-Stay (Type C), Temporary-Stay, or Long-Stay (Type D) Portugal Schengen Study visa to pursue your academic career in Portugal. However, you must meet the requirements for the Portugal Study visa before you can qualify to enter the country for educational purposes.

Page Contents

• Study Visa For Portugal: An Overview of Pursuing Higher Education in Portugal
• Requirements For Portugal Student Visa From South Africa
• Step By Step How to Apply for a Portugal Student Visa From South Africa
• Processing Time Once The Application Is Submitted
• Validity of The Student Visa
• Bringing Your Family On a Student Visa: The Rules
• Staying In Portugal After The Studies Have Wrapped
• Can a Student Visa Lead to Permanent Residency in Portugal?
• Working On a Student Visa In Portugal: What Are The Laws?
• How Can Total Law Help?
• FAQs

You must already have your letter of acceptance into a Portuguese university before you apply for the Portuguese Student visa. Therefore, follow this step-by-step guide to apply for a Portugal Student visa:

• Provide your Letter of Acceptance into a Portuguese university.
• Know where you are required to submit your application.
• Fix an interview/appointment with the Portuguese embassy.
• Fill out the Portugal Student visa application form.
• Bring all the required documents for your application.
• Complete the payments for your Student visa according to the directives of the Portuguese embassy which could be by bank transfer, online, or cash.
• Submit all the required documents at your nearest Portuguese embassy in South Africa.
• Await the processing of your application.
• You can travel to Portugal once you receive your Student visa.

You must obtain a residence permit once you arrive in Portugal. Therefore, fix an appointment with the Portuguese Immigration Borders Service (SEF) to get your residence permit.

Your residence permit will allow you to live and study in Portugal for the duration of your Student visa. It usually has a 1 year validity period, but you can renew it for up to 5 years.

You will be required to pay €83 to request a residence permit at the SEF. Besides that, you will also pay €72 to receive your residence permit from the SEF.

For your residence permit, you must provide the following documents:

• Your filled out application form.
• Two recent passport-sized photographs (in colour).
• Evidence of paid required study cost in Portugal.
• Proof of enough funds to cater for your needs in Portugal.
• Evidence of medical insurance.
• A proof that you have been registered at a higher institution in Portugal.
• Evidence of accommodation in the country.

You must make inquiries regarding the exact amount of fee to pay at any stage of your application process, ranging from your Student visa application fee to the residence permit fees. This is because payments could change with time and are not refunded even if you overpay during your application.

Therefore, reach out to one of our immigration advisers at Total Law today. We can help you take care of all these Portuguese Student visa application processes and assist you to make the correct amount of payments required of you.

We have helped South African nationals to obtain their Portugal Student visas successfully. We already know our way around all immigration-related issues regarding helping you to enter Portugal for study purposes. Call us today on +44 (0)333 305 9375 or contact us online.

Typically the processing time of your Student visa varies from several weeks to 3 months. Some factors could either hasten or delay your visa processing time.

If you gather and arrange all the required documents in your application correctly, it will make things faster both for you and the embassy that is processing your application. If you submit an incomplete or incorrect document, the processing of your application may be paused so that you can bring other remaining documents, or result in a refusal.

Also, how fast the embassy in your country processes visa applications also contributes to how long it takes for applications to get decisions. Some embassies process applications way faster than others. There are several other factors that may delay your processing time, such as the correctness of your application, peak travel seasons, your nationality, etc.

However, you need to play your own part to hasten the process. You need to start your application process immediately after receiving your letter of acceptance from a Portuguese university to avoid unnecessary delays. Ensure that all your documents are ready and assembled properly to reduce the processing time so that you will enter Portugal to begin your studies on time.

The type of Portugal Student visa you have determines its validity period. The Short-Stay Student visa is created for courses that could last for up to 3 months, such as work training courses, or short language courses.

A Temporary-Stay Student visa is designed for vocational training, student exchanges, internships, student volunteering, or study programmes that last from 3 to 12 months. Whereas, the Long-Stay Student visa is typically designed for studies that last for more than 1 year.

The length of your course largely determines the validity of your Portuguese Student visa. Your Long-Stay Student visa typically has a 1 year validity period initially, but you can renew it for up to 5 years, provided you continue to meet the eligibility requirements.

South African citizens who hold a Portuguese Student visa are allowed to bring their family members to Portugal. However, you must prove that you can cater for your financial needs and that of your family members when they come to Portugal.

Additionally, your family members must meet certain eligibility criteria to qualify to enter Portugal and stay with you. Here are the eligibility criteria:

• Minor children (including adopted ones).
• Adult children who are unmarried, and dependent on you due to disability or illness.
• Spouse or domestic/registered partner.

Note that you and your family members can apply to enter Portugal together. Or they may apply to join you via a Reunification visa after you have entered and settled in Portugal.

Your family members must make a separate application and pay different fees. They must provide all the required documents for their application separately.

When they come over to Portugal, they will have equal rights with you, such as the right to live and work in Portugal. Additionally, the validity period of their visas will be the same as yours.

South African students who have completed their studies in Portugal are allowed to stay back in the country, provided they already have an employment offer. You and your employer must have met the requirements for a Portugal work visa so that you can switch from your current Student work visa to a Working residence permit.

You must also meet the requirements for a Portuguese Work visa and request to switch to a Work visa before the last 30 days of your Student visa’s validity. This is because if your request falls within the last 30 days, it will be denied by the SEF. If you are unlucky and your visa terminates, you must return to South Africa and apply for a Work visa to enter Portugal for work purposes.

No, your Portuguese Student visa does not add up towards a permanent residency in Portugal. If you want to become a permanent resident in Portugal, you must have an employment offer as a skilled worker.

Thereafter, you must switch from your student permit to a temporary residence permit for work (Work visa) which will allow you to work in Portugal. This residence work permit has a 1 year validity period that you can renew for up to 5 years.

When you have worked in Portugal for 5 years on your temporary residence permit, you can now apply for Portuguese permanent residency. And after you have spent about 1 to 2 years in Portugal on the permanent residence permit you can now apply for Portuguese citizenship.

Portugal Student visa applicants who have a residence permit are not required to obtain additional permits to be allowed to work. You can work for a minimum of 20 hours weekly only when the semester is in progress, and work full-time on semester holidays or breaks. Depending on the amount of money you make during your studies in Portugal, you may be required to pay income tax.

The reverse is the case of EU/EEA citizens who enter Portugal for study purposes. They are allowed to work without restrictions. This implies that they can choose the type of work to do and the number of hours to work without obtaining a Work permit.

However, applicants are not allowed to work in Portugal if they only have a Schengen visa and are taking a short course designed to last about 3 months.