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Family visas for Europe · Portugal

Portugal family visa from the UK

To join your Portuguese husband or wife in Portugal, you apply for a temporary stay visa for family members of Portuguese citizens at the consulate for your area. There is no visa fee, the document list asks for no approval from Portugal, and temporary stay visas are decided within 30 days. Joining a non-EU resident, your partner must first get approval from AIMA in Portugal.

We prepare it with you from a £399 service fee, confirmed before you pay. Any official fee is paid by you to the embassy.

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Your route depends on your partner

Portugal's Consulates General in London and Manchester each serve their own district: Manchester covers Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, northern England and most of the Midlands, and London covers Greater London and the East, South East and South West of England. Visa appointments are booked only through VFS Global. Every line below comes from an official page, linked beside it, read on 2 November 2026.

Joining a Portuguese citizen

A free temporary stay visa for family of Portuguese citizens, applied for directly at the consulate for your area.

Visa
A temporary stay visa for family members of Portuguese citizens, for stays of over 3 months. A short-stay Schengen visa is not the right visa for this. Source
Who qualifies
Spouses, and registered partners where the partnership is treated as equal to marriage, on the same terms as the family of EU citizens. Source
How to apply from the UK
You apply to the Portuguese consulate for the area where you live. Source
Fee
No visa fee for family members of Portuguese citizens. Source
Processing time
Temporary stay visa applications are decided within 30 days. Source
Specific documents
A copy of your Portuguese partner's ID and proof of your family ties. You may be exempt from the criminal record certificate, travel insurance, return ticket and proof of means. Source
Legalisation
Where a criminal record certificate is needed, it must carry a Hague apostille or be legalised. Source

Joining an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen who lives in Portugal

Only a free short-stay visa if your passport needs one, then an EU family residence card from AIMA in Portugal.

Visa
Only an entry visa, and only if your nationality needs one. Portugal must give you every facility to obtain it. Source
Not this visa
The family reunification residence visa is not for family members of EU, EEA or Swiss citizens. Source
Fee
No visa fee for family members of EU, EEA and Swiss nationals. Source
Processing time
Under EU rules the visa should be processed as quickly as possible under an accelerated procedure, free of charge. Source
After you arrive
Book an appointment at an AIMA office and apply for the EU family residence card within 30 days after your first 3 months in Portugal. AIMA gives 3 months from the application. Source
Unmarried partners
Proof that you have lived together for at least 2 years, with both birth certificates. Source
Card fee
18 euros in person or 15 euros online for applicants over 25. Source

Joining a non-EU national who lives in Portugal

Family reunification: your partner asks AIMA in Portugal first, then you apply for the residence visa within 90 days.

Your partner starts this one in Portugal. We tell you exactly what is theirs and prepare your side from the UK.

Your partner's step
Your partner first asks AIMA in Portugal to approve family reunification for you. Once it is approved, you apply for the residence visa. Source
How your partner applies
By appointment and in person, with the AIMA form, at any AIMA office. Source
Residence period
Under Lei 61/2025, your partner must have held a valid residence permit for at least 2 years, or 15 months if you lived together for at least 18 months just before they moved to Portugal. There is no wait for a spouse or partner who is, with them, a parent or adoptive parent of a dependent child, and you must both be at least 18. Source
Housing and money
Your partner needs housing normal for a comparable family in the same region and enough money to support the whole family without social benefits. Source
Integration
After you get the permit, you must attend Portuguese language training and training on constitutional principles. Renewing the permit depends on showing that knowledge. Source
Decision in Portugal
AIMA must decide within 9 months. Source
Your visa
Apply within 90 days of the approval, or the approval lapses. You need the AIMA notification and proof of identity. Source
Visa decision
Residence visa applications are decided within 60 days. Source
Visa fee
110 euros for a national visa. Children joining a parent with a residence permit are exempt. Source
Translation
Foreign-language documents for AIMA need a translation by a Portuguese notary, the Portuguese consulate in the issuing country, or that country's consulate in Portugal. Source

Documents most applicants need

The full list depends on your route. We send you yours, item by item, once you order.

  • National visa application form, signed
  • Two recent passport photos
  • Passport valid for 3 months after your planned return, with a copy of the data page
  • Proof of your UK residence status if you are not British, valid beyond the visa you apply for
  • A copy of your Portuguese partner's ID card
  • Proof of your family ties, such as your marriage certificate

What we do

  • Check your case and tell you which visa applies, and whether we can help, before you pay
  • Build your document list from the embassy's own requirements for your country
  • Check every document, translation and apostille before it goes in
  • Fill in the application form with you, in your own account where the embassy uses an online portal
  • Prepare you for the appointment and stay with you until the decision

What you do

  • Get the certificates, apostilles, translations and any language test your country asks for
  • Sign and submit the application yourself, and attend the appointment in person
  • Pay any official fee directly to the embassy or consulate

We are a private company, not an embassy, consulate or visa centre. We do not give legal advice, and we do not handle visas into the UK.

Questions about the Portugal family visa

Can I apply for a Portuguese spouse visa from the UK?
Yes. If your spouse is Portuguese, you apply for a temporary stay visa for family members of Portuguese citizens at the Portuguese Consulate General for your area, London or Manchester. Appointments are booked only through VFS Global. If you are not British, you show your UK residence status.
How long does a Portugal spouse visa take?
Temporary stay visas, the type for spouses of Portuguese citizens, are decided within 30 days. Joining a non-EU resident takes longer: AIMA has 9 months to decide on the reunification, then the residence visa is decided within 60 days.
How much does the Portuguese spouse visa cost?
There is no visa fee for family members of Portuguese citizens, nor for the family of EU, EEA and Swiss citizens. Joining a non-EU resident, the residence visa costs 110 euros for a spouse. Our service fee starts at £399.
Do my documents need an apostille and a translation?
A criminal record certificate, where one is needed, must carry a Hague apostille or be legalised. For applications to AIMA in Portugal, documents in a foreign language need a translation by a Portuguese notary, the Portuguese consulate in the issuing country, or that country's consulate in Portugal.
My partner is Spanish and lives in Lisbon. Which visa do I need?
EU rules apply: only a free short-stay visa if your passport needs one, then an EU family residence card from AIMA, applied for by appointment within 30 days after your first 3 months in Portugal.
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What you are protected by

WayaNerd Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 16269713. 48 Margery Park Road, London, E7 9JY. Contact us

Official sources

Read on 2 November 2026. Rules change: we check your embassy's page again for your case.

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