Residence permit through the opening of a company in Portugal. Type D2 visa.

Who can obtain this type of residence permit?

• Persons who intend to and are willing to reside in Portugal for 183 days per year,
• Persons confirming their intention to carry out entrepreneurial activities in Portuguese territory,
• Persons who entered the territory of Portugal with a tourist visa (intending to open a business), they can apply for a residence permit while they are in the country.

What kind of company is suitable for requesting a D2 residence permit?

Operating business: become the sole owner, or acquire a share.

It is possible to register a business and then operate it as a basis for immigration. This implies having a registered office of the company, keeping accounts and balance sheet, filing reports. The company must actually operate, pay salaries to employees, have current contracts, revenues and other attributes of an operating enterprise.

Registration of the new business.

From the moment of registration, company’s founder or shareholder must prepare a detailed business plan, including market analysis, marketing, production and financial plans containing a detailed vision of the full integration of the business into the Portuguese economy.

Relocating a successful business or part of it to Portugal in another country.
In this case, a new legal entity must be registered in Portugal and part of the business and financial activities planned to be transferred to it. Moreover, it is necessary to provide documentation about the main business, as well as the planned activities of using the company registered in Portugal and its role in the overall structure of the business.

Procedure for applying for a D2 visa:

1. Applying the documents to the Portuguese Consulate in the country of residence (personal presence is compulsory),
2. Once the documents have been successfully submitted, the average waiting time for a decision is 60 days.
3. In case the application for a D2 visa is approved, you can take back your documents (passport) with the visa stamped on it.
4. Upon arrival in Portugal, you need to contact the local SEF office (Immigration Department) https://www.sef.pt regarding the issuance of the residence permit.
5. You can apply for citizenship after 5 years of residence in Portugal.

Procedure for obtaining a D2 visa – Residence permit through opening a company in Portugal:

Preparing all the necessary documents* in order to request residency on a D2 visa:

• a completed visa application form,
• 2 photos (format 3×4),
• original passport and copies of all pages,
• documents verifying your financial status (the availability of the minimum necessary funds to stay in Portugal), this can be a bank account statement,
• documents verifying your accommodation in Portugal (flat or house rental contract, documents confirming the availability of immovable property in the country),
• apostilled certificate of cleanliness (absence of criminal record),
• a signed authorization from the applicant to check the criminal status of the applicant in Portugal,
• business plan,
• full medical insurance (it is essential).

*All documents must be notarized and translated into Portuguese.